The Kazekage's Keeper
by annie1994
Summary: There are a few rules to being a keeper. Protect the person under your care, make sure they are emotionally stable at all times, and most one of the most important of all being "Do not fall in love with your charge." Oops. Follow Gaara and Ami through a tale of assassins, demons, and troublesome family members. (GaaraxOC, please read and review!)
1. Keepers and Charges

Gaara stared out at his village, standing on top of the Kazekage's mansion, knowing that in just a few moments his "Keeper" would be right next to him. The woman had been assigned to keep him safe when he had Shukaku inside of him, and even now that the beast was gone her clan of keepers had let her stay with him—the man had promised an alliance with the tiny village where she was from just to keep her by his side. Remembering how once when she had left him for a week when they were fourteen to visit her family how… strange it had felt without her. They had met when they were six, and he just couldn't see his life without her.

The twenty year old man couldn't tell what sort of feeling he had for the other but he knew that after fighting with her in a war, having her help him control Shukaku when he was inside of him, he wanted her by his side. The red head felt a familiar chakra surround him like a warm cloud, not at all surprised when Ami had landed right next to him. A slight smile came onto his face, after knowing her for fourteen years he knew how long it took for her to find him, how she reacted to him sneaking off for privacy… he knew her inside and out—just as well as she knew him.

The blonde woman rested her arm on Gaara's shoulder, leaning against him as they watched the sun set on their village. Smiling softly up at him, feeling the familiar pounding of her heart and her stomach tying itself up in knots when she touched him. But that could be ignored for the most part, ignoring and concealing her feelings for the man was something she had grown better and better at. He didn't know romantic love, hadn't even believed in love at all until a few years prior. Why tell him about it and watch him get upset. Watch him possibly get hurt. She couldn't have that, she wanted to protect this man with her life, she couldn't stand to hurt him even if it was emotionally.

Looking up at him with a slightly amused smile, "You've gotten better at sneaking away, still really damn bad at hiding though—It only took me three minutes to track you down Gaara." Smiling slightly as the sun set below the horizon, casting a wonderful reddish orange hue over the tan and brown village. Seeing lights come on one by one, people opening their windows to let the cold desert night air into their homes. Mothers were dragging their children back home, the small children digging their heels in the ground to try and keep from leaving their friends… she could definitely see why Gaara came here to watch his village, the view was amazing and it really brought life to the desert and all that surrounded it. Letting her arm slide off of his shoulder she brushed a stray lock of long hair out of her face before looking up at her charge, "So Temari can't cook tonight since she's out on a date with Shikamaru while he's in town, and I'm pretty sure Kankuro is out drinking with his buddies so it's just us tonight. Do you know what you want to do for dinner? It's my turn to cook." Almost wanting to go back into the mansion as the air around them turned cold, she had lived with Gaara and his siblings since she had moved to Suna, her room a small one right next to Gaara's so she could take care of him at all times.

"Let's have rice porridge with chicken… how does that sound?" seeing her smile out of the corner of his eye, the man wondered in the back of his mind if she knew that he was going to request that. It was his favorite dish after all. Shrugging a bit he jumped down from the roof without warning, landing easily on his feet as Ami landed right next to him. Gaara led her inside, sitting in the kitchen patiently as she made dinner for the two of them, letting his mind wander a bit as he watched her cook for them both. To when they first met, to when he first met the woman in front of him. He had used to hate her vehemently, considering her nothing more than a nuisance. That feeling hadn't changed until after the invasion of Konaha where he had met Naruto. He was glad he saw her differently now, that they were so close, it seemed like that they could communicate without words. One of the first things Ami had told him was that he could ask her anything and she would always reply to him honestly, and for all he could tell she had kept that promise. Tapping his index finger on his glass of water, feeling the sand in his gourd leaning against the wall shift anxiously as he thought about the question that had been eating at him recently. He really couldn't tell why he was so hung up on what her opinion on him was but he had been finding himself forgetting to pay attention in meetings as he wondered about it. Looking up in a bit of surprise when she broke his reverie, asking him what was wrong. Gaara stared at her for a few moments more before speaking. "What was your first thought when you met me?"

The corner of her mouth twitching upwards, he had been asking her things like this constantly for the past few weeks. Stirring the porridge as she thought back to their first meeting, a tiny chuckle working its way out of her mouth. The boy she had met back then was much different than the man next to her now. She remembered when they first met just as vividly as it was yesterday.

_ The small blonde girl ran excitedly through the gates of her new home village. She had been dreaming of this day for as long as she could remember—the seven year old had been trained since she could walk and told since she could walk that her whole life would come to this day. The day where she would finally meet and be able to protect Subaku no Gaara. Her heart ached for the boy, she had heard all about his life, his mother had applied for him to have a keeper while she was pregnant—and had died when she gave birth prematurely. His uncle had tried to kill him when he was five, she couldn't repeat what her father had called his father without getting in trouble but she was very much surprised to hear such a foul word come out of her gentle father's mouth. Bursting into his room, seeing the smaller redheaded boy turn around in shock and surprise. _

_A wide smile on her face, a small wooden talisman hanging from her neck to protect her from any attacks of his sand—but the girl was sure that it wouldn't be needed. Her mother had told her that all the boy needed was love, and as long as Ami showed it to him all would be well. "Hello! My name is Ami, and I'll be your keeper! Let's be good friends alright Gaara?" seeing two other children stare at her in shock through the door she turned around and waved, "You must be Temari and Kankuro! It's nice to meet you~!" shocked when sand surrounded her, was her charge attacking her? Glad now that she was wearing the talisman she heard the boy scream in frustration when he realized his sand wouldn't get close enough to her to kill the strange girl in his room. Finally piping up when he had dropped the sand from around her, the young child glaring at her like she had committed some sort of horrible atrocity by not dying. "Well aren't you rude…" hearing Gaara's older brother Kankuro softly say that she would be dead in a week she wondered if he was right. This hadn't gone as planned._

Ami smiled at Gaara as she poured him a bowl of porridge, putting some chicken in there as well before serving herself and sitting next to him at the kitchen table. "My first thought when I met you was that you were a very rude child for trying to kill me for no reason… and I was entirely determined to become friends with you. No matter what." Eating a bit of her porridge and washing it down with water, "Think we got there though. You're my best friend."

The redhead ate quietly, pondering on her words. It made him happy to hear that he was her best friend that she felt the same way. He stayed quiet for a bit longer wanting to apologize for how he acted when they first met. Gaara was sure that she was just going to hurt him like everyone else had—but now things were different… he was different. He couldn't dream of hurting the woman before him. He didn't know that if the strange feelings in his chest when she was around was love of any sort but he knew that he wanted to protect her with everything that he had. About to apologize for what had happened so long ago but knowing that Ami would only shut him down before he could get it all out. Finishing his food and picking up both his and Ami's bowl once she was done eating as well, rinsing them off in the sink as she picked up the utensils and such. Gaara could not put a word on their relationship, he couldn't say if they were just friends, he couldn't say if they were dating—although he had a feeling since they hadn't kissed or talked about romantic things that probably wasn't the case, he couldn't say if they were going to date one day. But he knew that he liked having her by his side.


	2. Nightmares

_ The blonde couldn't take in any sort of deep breath—her longs still semi filled with fluid from her bout of pneumonia. Her body kept rotating between feeling like it was positively on fire or the sensation that she was bathing in an ice bath. Still she stumbled out of bed, grabbing a scalpel from a cart in the hallway before jumping out the window to go and protect her charge. _

_ Even she wasn't quite sure if what she was seeing was a hallucination from the high fever, but she could see her charge Gaara fighting some strange blonde man in a black cloak with red clouds. Not caring if she ended just fighting a hallucination as long as she tried at the very least to defend him. _

_ Ami realized as soon as she felt Gaara's chakra surround her that this was the real deal—hearing him shout for her to get away she suddenly realized how under armed she was. Seeing a small white bird fly her way as she continued to bound towards her charge before it exploded—sending her backwards and flailing. She felt a rope of sand wrap around her waist to catch her, her head still going back and hitting the building behind her. Ami felt a splitting pain radiate through her head and heard a concussive crack as she realized that her skull had been fractured. Her vision slowly turned to black as she felt the sand gently lower her next to some other ninjas. "Gaara… I'm… I'm sorry… I couldn't protect you…"_

The twenty year old shot up in bed, covered in a light sheen of a cold sweat. Panting as she ran a hand through her messy hair, that was the worst memory in her life. The horrid memory had been coming to her over and over the past few weeks and she couldn't figure out why for the life of her. Since she was able to walk she had been taught and told that she was supposed to give her life to protect him and make sure Shukaku never came out.

She had failed at both.

Swearing under her breath as she got out of her bed, Ami walked over to her small bathroom, splashing some cold water on her face and toweling off gently. The woman felt the familiar pressure of Gaara's chakra surround her like a warm blanket, she had gotten so accustomed to tracking his chakra that it felt strange when she couldn't feel it around her. It was almost like a comfort blanket to her now. Ami filled up a glass with water from the sink, turning off the tap once it was full and stepping out of the bathroom and giving him a small smile. "What are you doing in here? You've got a big meeting in the morning—you should be asleep."

The Kazekage sat down on her bed, watching the blonde before him as she leaned against the doorframe and sipped on her water. He could tell that she was trying to play out that she was calm but he had felt her chakra spike. Gaara had spent so many years unable to sleep that even now, five years after his demon was extracted he still had trouble falling asleep. He could feel that she was having a nightmare, her chakra usually felt like a warm cloud that surrounded him but whenever she was scared or upset it became malformed. Sharp and edgy. "I couldn't sleep." Crossing his arms, Gaara continued. "You had a nightmare. What was it about?"

"Don't wanna talk about it." Crossing the arm and sitting on the bed, sipping on her water. She'd comment on the fact that he knew that she had a nightmare but she was just going to guess that he was tracking her chakra like she did to him. Ami sighed as she downed the rest of her water, setting the glass down on the nightstand. She noticed the look he was giving her, Ami had always been very forthcoming and honest whenever he asked her anything. She hadn't lied to him about a single thing.

She would however refuse to tell him things sometimes. It annoyed him to no end that there were things she refused to share with him. The man had a good feeling that if he pushed her enough she would tell, but he also knew well that if he went down that path there was a good chance she would get angry at him. It was not above his old keeper and current guard to shout at him. It had happened several times before in just the past month, Ami had it in her mind that someone needed to keep him in line at times. Leaning back against the wall that the bed was pressed against Gaara nodded "Alright then… if you insist."

Ami sat closer to him on the bed, resting her head on his shoulder and letting out a deep sigh. She was glad that he was there with her, even if he was annoyed that she wouldn't tell him what her dream was about. It made her fell comforted that even after all of what happened, even after Shukaku was extracted, that he was still alive, well, and healthy. Feeling her charge wrap an arm around her she let herself drift off to sleep, Ami always felt safe next to him. Before she finally drifted off she could feel Gaara rest her head on hers, hear his breathing even out as he too finally fell asleep.

The next morning as the dawn sunlight spilled into the small room Temari came in, smiling at the sight of the two leaning against each other and sleeping. Covering them both with a blanket, leaving the room and telling Kankuro to go to the capitol building where Gaara's meeting was for the day and say that he was feeling under the weather and couldn't make the meeting. She had a feeling that her brother and his guard both needed the sleep they were getting.


	3. Love

Gaara tapped his index finger on his teacup, breathing in the scent of the green tea that he had brewed in the small pot his secretary kept in the break room. He had come to the office early that day—the sun hadn't even risen yet. Neither had his guard Ami for that matter. He was almost surprised that she hadn't gotten here by now but the redheaded man had noticed that she hadn't been sleeping as much lately, she must be exhausted if she actually slept through him leaving. Most of the time when he snuck out of the house she was already up, ready, and following him by the time he was ten steps out the door.

He'd be annoyed if he weren't so fond of the blonde woman. Taking a sip of his tea when he heard a frantic and incredibly familiar voice curse as someone ran down the hall, his aquamarine eyes raised up just in time to see Ami burst into the door of his office. Her long blonde hair messed up, dark circles under her eyes, and he was fairly sure she had just put on her normal pants and was wearing one of her pajama shirts still. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards, he was right. She had slept through him leaving for once. "Why are you up Ami? You need your sleep." Repressing the chuckle that was threatening to make its way out of his mouth at the face she made Gaara sipped on his tea.

"Why am I up? Why are you up Gaara!? I don't ask much from you other that you stay safe and you let me know when you leave!" letting out a large groan of frustration and sitting on Gaara's desk, resisting the large urge she had to scream at him. Pouring herself a cup of tea without asking, still glaring at him. He made her so angry sometimes, all she wanted was to be able to protect him at all times and even though she could track his chakra he still managed to get away sometimes. She had been having nightmares every night and her sleep had been suffering. "Damn I can't believe I slept through you leaving what is wrong with me—"

A tinge of guilt came to the Kazekage—his smile however small it was quickly disappearing. He hadn't meant to hurt her or make her upset, he had even gone in to let her know that he was leaving to go to work early since he couldn't sleep but she had looked so peaceful sleeping that he couldn't bring himself to disturb her. The man opened his mouth briefly as he struggled for something to say to apologize in a way that would make her happy but to be honest he was still very poor with words and he wasn't sure what would make her feel better and what would make her more upset. "I'm… I'm sorry. I know you haven't been sleeping enough lately and I wanted to let you rest. Please forgive me."

The woman stared at him, a bit shocked that he was actually apologizing. "Alright. I forgive you, but please, please tell me when you leave. I don't—I don't want you to get hurt… I want to protect you." Looking at the clock and making a small noise of disgust, "I can't believe you got up, got ready, and went to work before four A.M. good god Gaara I think you get less sleep than I do—" looking back down at him and pursing her lips, "On your day off you're relaxing and getting some rest. Or else I will nag you all day about how you aren't resting. Don't test me about this, you know I will." Hopping off his desk after she finished her tea and leaving his office Ami walked over to the break room to brew them both a cup of coffee.

Gaara stared at her as she left, the smile returning to his face. The woman looked after him well; he had to give her credit for that. Looking through the stack of papers on his desk and scowling at a scroll in particular from the council telling him that he needed to get married soon—a long list of prospective brides towards the bottom. His sand snaked out of his gourd, shredding the scroll as Ami walked in with two cups of coffee.

Staring at him, tilting her head as she set one of the cups on his desk as she sat down on a bare spot on the desk once more. Sipping her coffee briefly before finally speaking "What's on that that's got you so angry?" reaching out and taking the scroll from the sand, giggling at the scowl her charge had on his face. Not much was left of the letter but she was able to make out most of the first few sentences. "They want you to get married huh? Got anyone in mind?" the smile on her face was genuine. Yes it hurt to know that the man he loved had to get married. Yes it hurt to know it would most likely be anyone but her. But she wanted to make sure he was happy, and if he ended up marrying and falling in love with someone else that wasn't her she would be in pain over it but she would manage.

The redhead plucked the scroll from her hands, tossing it into the trashcan where his sand promptly tore it to shreds. He paused, saying that he didn't have someone in mind would be lying to her, and he knew full well that she could tell when he was lying faster than she could dodge a kunai. Gaara had found himself thinking more and more about the blonde lately, and whenever the counsel brought up him getting married his first thought of a bride was her.

He couldn't figure out why.

Was this love? This seemed more frustrating than anything else. He had half a mind to ask her why she did this to him but he had a good feeling that she would laugh at his reaction to him being in… whatever this was. She always seemed to find amusement in whenever he was having problems with emotions. Feeling his companion poke the kanji on his forehead to get his attention. "Please don't poke me Ami." Swatting her hand away gently and doing his best to scowl at her, failing miserably. The man sighed, before coming to the realization that Ami might have some insight on what love was like. "What does being in love feel like?"

Ami's green eyes widened considerably at his questioned—she had not expected that in the slightest. "I um—I—" letting out a large sigh as she thought about how she felt now that she was in love. "It can be really frustrating at times I mean… The guy I'm in love with can be infuriating sometimes but you kind of just look past that because he makes me happy… I don't know I mean I want to protect him and shield him from any sort of harm…" pausing for a bit to sip on her coffee, "That's not really a good answer but… that's all I got." Seeing that Gaara was giving her an incredibly strange look she raised an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

"You're… in love?" Why did that hurt so much? Gaara leaned back in his chair trying the best to evaluate the strange pain that was manifesting itself in his chest right now. He hadn't felt that pain before—the only thing like it was when he was small and his uncle had tried to kill him. Gritting his teeth together and going to his paperwork to distract himself—not answering Ami's question, gently using his sand to nudge her off his desk and carry her to one of the chairs in the room and setting her down on it carefully. Diving into his paperwork without saying a word—hearing his keeper's frustrated sigh at his actions.

If this was love Gaara didn't like it.


	4. Dammit

_Gaara stared down at the woman before him as she lay in the hospital bed. He was back to the village, now demon-less, now rescued… but why didn't he feel different than before? Reaching out to brush a stray strand of blonde hair out of Ami's face he sat down in the chair next to her bed, Gaara took survey of the hospital room. The sandstone walls had been painted white, but still retained the gritty texture. Everything in the room was either white or a pale faded blue; it all seemed strangely depressing despite how bright it was. He didn't understand. He didn't understand why she tried to attack an S-ranked criminal with just a scalpel, he didn't understand why she tried to fight while she had pneumonia… he had to admit that was not a smart move at all despite how fond he was of his keeper. Gaara smiled softly as her green eyes fluttered open, a smile coming to her face when she saw him. "Gaara…? You're all right! I had the weirdest dream—" rubbing the back of her head gently as she sat up, "My head hurts like a bitch what the hell—"_

_ "Ami… that wasn't a dream… The Akatsuki kidnapped me and they extracted Shukaku. Naruto, Sakura, and several other ninja from Konaha rescued me…" seeing her eyes widen considerably, he gingerly took her hands into his own. He wasn't quite sure how holding someone's hand was supposed to make him or her feel better but he had seen his sister do it several times before and it seemed to work._

_ The woman tilted her head and laughed—a nervous, scared, soft laughter. "You… they… Shukaku can't be gone… You would have died in the extraction. And you're here-! You're right here—" Ami's lip trembled at his next few words—listening to him confirm that that had actually happened. It hurt. Her heart hurt. Not caring that her eyes were watering up, not caring that tears were spilling down her face. She had never let Gaara see her cry—she hadn't let any of the people in Suna see her cry. Not in all her years there. "I failed… Gaara I'm so sorry—" All she had been taught and told since she was able to walk was that she was supposed to protect the man next to her. It didn't matter how he acted, it didn't matter about anything else as long as he was alive and his demon didn't get out._

_ She had failed. She had failed the only purpose anyone had ever given her in life._

_ Gaara didn't know what to do, panicking internally quite a bit as the woman before him cried. He hadn't even seen her tear up before. Pulling his hands away from hers when he realized it wasn't helping at all; he sat in silence as she cried, watching in worry. _

The Kazekage frowned as he stared out of the window—remembering the day Ami had woken up after fracturing her skull trying to rescue him from the Akatsuki. She had always seemed so put together before he saw her cry that first time. It scared him. It scared him that she cried. It scared him that she blindly tried to protect him even though she was probably going to die… Her loyalty scared him. What had he done to deserve that loyalty?

Not a thing.

Turning his head towards the door as his older brother Kankuro walked in, Gaara swiveled in his chair to face the other man. The older brunette paused as he took in his younger brother's facial expression. "What's up with you Gaara? You look pissy—"

Ami looked up from the chair she was sitting in, setting down her pen as she wrote a letter back to one of her siblings. "He's been like that ever since he got a scroll from the counsel saying he needed to get married. He asked me what love felt like—I answered and now he won't talk at all." Chuckling softly when Gaara directed his coldest glare at her, "You don't scare me Gaara. You've never scared me. I'm going to go get lunch and some coffee—I'll be back. Try and get him to talk alright Kankuro? He's just been staring out the window for the past few hours." Walking out of the office, waving goodbye to both of the men.

The brunette ninja stared at the woman as she left before looking back at his little brother. "So what's really the problem? The counsel has told you to get married tons of times. They've been doing it since you became Kazekage five years ago." Sitting in the chair the blonde woman was in just a few moments ago.

Gaara stayed quiet for a few more moments before finally speaking. "Ami is in love. She's in love with some man… and now my chest hurts ever since she told me—what's wrong with me?" looking at Kankuro very much concerned about all of this "Am I having a heart attack? It really hurts Kankuro. I don't know what that woman has done to me—all I want to do is make her happy and hold her and whenever the counsel brings up marriage I think of her as my wife what is wrong with me?" looking visibly upset at all of this, scowling when his older brother began to laugh.

"You're in love Gaara! Oh my god—you're in love with Ami! That's why you're upset! That's why you're feeling this way—" grinning wide at his brother, this was perfect! Ami would be great for Gaara. She cared for him, she was loyal to him, she was protective of him… His little brother was finally in love. He had been worried for a while about whether or not it would ever happen. Seeing the look of shock on Gaara's face and the pink that was slowly spreading over the Kazekage's cheeks he chuckled, patting him on the shoulder "Ami should be back soon, I'll leave you two alone."

The Kazekage stared out of the window as he let the other man's words sink in. So that's what that feeling was huh? A single word fell from his lips as he realized that his brother really was right. "Dammit"


	5. Tell Me a Story

Ami walked home that day, frowning heavily at the Kazekage. He hadn't spoken a word to her since he asked her what love felt like. "You do know you're acting like a child right now right? If you're angry at me just let me know—don't pout like some little kid—" rolling her eyes when Gaara glared at her, Ami spoke to herself in her home village's native dialect, knowing he wouldn't understand. "_I am in love with a man who acts like a little child. What the hell—" _

The man was afraid to talk to her—afraid that if he said anything his feelings would be revealed. He'd rather she be mad at him about him not saying anything than she know about his feelings. Now he just had to be silent for the rest of his life.

He could probably do that.

Both Gaara and Ami walked into the mansion, the blonde woman storming ahead of the Kazekage—immediately going to the kitchen where Temari was cooking and helping her. The eldest Suna shinobi arched a blonde eyebrow at the other's actions, looking over at her youngest brother, as he was even more quiet and moody than usual. She would need to get an explanation about that later. The two didn't usually fight but it wasn't unusual for it to happen. Both were extremely stubborn, extremely proud, and neither ever wanted to give in or admit defeat. Although Temari had to give Ami some credit, whenever they did fight she usually won.

Kankuro came into the house, hands in his pockets as he whistled a happy tune—kicking off his shoes and taking the large scroll off of his back and leaning it against the wall. Pausing a bit before smiling wide "Are we having Soba?" rushing into the kitchen and bouncing up and down, seeing both women preparing the noodles and toppings of his favorite dish. The brunette sat down on one of the counters, swinging his legs as he waited for the food to be ready, soon enough getting bored and frowning. "This is boring—someone tell a story—"

Rolling her eyes before noticing that all three siblings from Suna were staring at her, Ami shook her head, "Fine, fine, fine— Damn… let me think…" Drawing a blank on what she could tell before coming up with a story that she was told almost every night when she lived in her home village. "Okay so… Many years ago, there was a man called the sage of the six paths. He lived during the time of the great ninja war, and dreamed of peace. One day, he sealed the ten-tailed demon inside himself, so no country or clan could claim it. Upon his death he split the demon into nine different demons and sent them away into the four main directions. Before he drew his last breath he passed his youngest son his wealth disregarding his first-born. What history tends to neglect is that the sage had many daughters. The youngest of them was the beautiful Aiko. She carried herself with dignity, and never lost a battle to another shinobi. She soon married a man called Minamoto Daisuke, from the village hidden in the dark. He brought her to his village where they started a family of their own. Aiko had a magnificent talent she learned from her father. She could seal demons with ease. She taught their children this art of sealing so they could continue on with her father's dream of a demon free world. There were other demons besides the tailed ones. Some were relatively harmless; the most they could do was scare a child. Others were known to climb into a man's body and feed on his soul.

"The Village hidden in the shadows was once the most powerful village, and its country the most feared. Our country was the largest, our ninja's undefeatable, and our allies were extensive. The Minamoto's, my clan, were the leaders. We held the reigns, we were revered. Our claim to power was simple. We were the demon keepers. Our village had a large temple that housed hundreds upon hundreds of scrolls that not only contained all of the information about demons, but the demons themselves. It was a well-known fact that without our clan in power, without our country in power, we could easily release the monsters out into the world.

"That well-known fact is what led to our demise. Our village was attacked and while we managed to defeat the invaders the temple was set on fire, and our power went up with smoke that came from the temple. The demons managed to escape and our country was demolished, and the other countries thought it was a failed attack on them. They stole our land, and our credibility went with it. The country became smaller, and we were no longer a driving force. But my village rebuilt itself, and my clan recovered what it could of the scrolls, and did what it could to go back to normal. A new job was created after this incident. Or rather, a new meaning for 'Demon Keeper'. We would track down one of the hosts of the demons, send a representative of our clan to protect them, help them, and keep their monster under control." Looking over and seeing Temari smiling, Gaara still glaring from where he was sitting at the kitchen table, and Kankuro looking bored. "What do you want? It's the only story I know—" Putting some food on a plate for her before making a face at the brunette "Get your food you dork—" sitting at the table and digging in.

The dinner they had was fairly normal, with Gaara being more brooding than usual. Usually he smiled once or twice but tonight he was frowning the entire dinner, even as he ate. Finishing quickly and leaving to go to his home office, slamming the door behind him, Gaara busied himself with work try and distract himself.

Ami sighed and excused herself, cleaning up both her and Gaara's plates before walking over to his office and trying to open the door, frowning when she realized he had locked it. "Really Gaara? Really—you're acting like a child—" fiddling with the lock for a few more moments before getting frustrated, knocking off the doorknob and kicking the door open. "Look I don't know what your problem is, but you need to know something Lord Kazekage—" spitting out his title, she loved the man before her but she wouldn't stand to be treated like this by anyone. "You are my best friend, and I care very deeply for you, but if you just ignore me for no reason I'm going to get angry. We're friends Gaara—tell me what's going on!" groaning when he remained silent "Fine—Fine—act like a child good lord—" turning on her heel to leave when a thin tendril of sand wrapped itself around her waist to keep her in place.

Gaara made sure that the sand wrapped around the woman wasn't tight enough to hurt her in the slightest, but still tight enough to keep her in place. Pausing for a moment before making the sand also hold her hands to her sides knowing that she would probably use one of her jutsu's to take his ability to control sand away for a few minutes like she usually did when he tried to restrain her with sand. It was annoying as hell and he didn't like to deal with it. Taking a deep breath before speaking to choose his words carefully. "I am sorry. I am… stressed about several things and it has me in a bad mood. Please forgive me." Looking over at her—fairly sure she would actually forgive him. She usually did whenever he apologized, there were times where she would hold a grudge for a few days but in the end as long as he was repentant, he was forgiven.

The woman struggled a bit in his sand's grip, glaring at him until he dropped it, making it retreat back into his gourd. Ami stared at him for a few moments before smiling very softly. "I forgive you, but you don't have to ignore me because you're in a bad mood alright? We're friends, we take care of each other all right?" sitting down on the desk and smiling at him, reaching out and patting his cheek.

Ami giggled a bit as the sand armor that always guarded him slowly began to chip away, while Gaara marveled at how easily she could break down his defense without even trying. He wanted to take off his armor when she was around. He felt safe with her, he trusted her. The Kazekage didn't want there to be a layer of sand between them, he wanted to feel her soft hand on his cheek. His sand slowly retreating back into its gourd, Gaara not protesting in the slightest when she simply rested her hand on his cheek and smiled at him with a new emotion he hadn't really seen on her face before. The man reached up and put his hand on top of hers, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards at how much larger his hand was than hers.

Neither quite sure what they were doing, but both enjoying the moment.


	6. Happy Birthday

Gaara was one hundred percent sure that his siblings had planned this. They had both left for a mission to Konoha leaving him alone with Ami for her birthday. Sipping on his coffee as the sun rose, watching a small flock of birds outside of his kitchen window. Today was his day off, which he was more than grateful for. Ever since he had realized his feelings for Ami his sleeping patterns had been more erratic and poor than usual. Looking at the new set of calligraphy brushes that was on the kitchen table, he had bought the nicest set he could find in the village for Ami's present—knowing that she did calligraphy in her spare time to relax. His first temptation was to buy her jewelry but he knew very well that she didn't wear jewelry and if he spent money on it, it would not be worn. Not that he minded spending money on her, if he knew something could make her smile he would buy it for her—but Ami was one of the most grounded people he ever met. She wouldn't like lavish gifts.

The man stared at the clock as it passed by minute-by-minute, letting Ami sleep in. Getting up and rinsing out his coffee cup before starting to make breakfast for him and Ami, making the traditional foods that he knew that she liked. Making rice, miso soup, making several rolled omelets for the two of them before brewing a pot of green tea. Gaara set the table, looking over when he heard Ami pad into the kitchen, still in her pajamas, hair messed up, looking about half awake. "What's… why are you making breakfast? I thought it was my turn… Thank you though…" rubbing her eyes and pouring both of them a cup of green tea and putting both on the table.

Staring down at the girl, had he gotten the day wrong? Or did she really not remember it was her birthday? The second seemed more possible—she had done just that the past four years in a row. Not remembering until he and his siblings had given her presents the morning of her birthday. "It's your birthday Ami—" not even bothering to repress the chuckle that came up with the look of shock and surprise on her face "I can't believe you forgot for the fifth year in a row." pulling out the chair for her to sit, happy to eat and spend time with her just the two of them. That day, on Ami's insistence that they didn't have to do anything special, was fairly ordinary. Gaara finished up any paperwork that he needed to do, Ami wrote letters to her family, and the two just spent time together and relaxed. The redhead Kazekage came to her room just as the sun was setting, Temari had told him that he should take out the other woman for dinner that night since he wasn't really the best cook. "Get dressed Ami—in a dress I mean. We're going out to eat in an hour." Chuckling at her look of confusion as he strolled out, she was almost always able to predict his every single action that every time he managed to catch her off guard it made him extremely happy.

Ami stared at the door even after he had closed it, what was he planning? Hoping very much that they weren't going somewhere expensive—she always felt bad when people spent a great deal of money on her. Hell, she even felt bad living in the mansion—the Sand Siblings had accepted her as family but she still felt like a free loader at times. It was one of the reasons that she cooked and cleaned so much for all of them. Shaking her head, Ami stood up from her desk where she was writing letters to her family and walked over to her closet to look for a dress. Finding a simple green sun-dress her mother had sent her a few years back she shrugged and changed into that, slipping into some simple flat civilian shoes before pausing as she realized she had no weapons on her in this outfit. Strapping a kunai holster to her upper thigh so she at least had something, even if it wasn't the sword that she usually kept on her at all times. Ami adjusted the skirt of the green dress once more to hide her weapon, knowing that Gaara would not like it if he knew she had a weapon on her. He had known her for so long and yet he never seemed to realize that she was always on guard to protect him. Or, if he did, he never seemed to understand why.

Standing near the door and waiting for his companion, Gaara brushed his shaggy red hair out of his face, reminding himself that he needed to ask Temari to cut his hair when she got from Konoha. The man smiled at the sight of her, he hadn't seen Ami in a dress or a skirt even very often—he liked it. Spotting the faint bulge on the outside of her right thigh though he began to frown. "Why are you bringing weapons?" looking up at her, not surprised in the very least but still somewhat disappointed.

"I'm your guard Gaara—I always keep weapons on me." Walking up to him and tapping his nose with her index finger, Ami gave him a cheeky grin. "Someone's gotta keep you safe. I only brought a few kunai and some shuriken, be happy I didn't bring my sword alright?" laughing when he rolled his eyes before walking out of the house with him.

Gaara did his best not to smile when she laughed—he truly did. He couldn't help it though; her laughter sounded like bells to him, musical tinkling bells that always brought a smile to his face. No matter how small. "Fine then, I don't know how you would fight in those shoes though—" chuckling when she quickly retorted that she would take off her shoes before fighting. Walking with her to her favorite place to eat in the village, a simple traditional restaurant. He remembered a few years back when Kankuro had asked her why she liked such simple food and she had simply responded that it reminded her of her home village. If there were one thing he had to pinpoint that he liked about her, it would be how down to earth she was. He spent so much time around individuals with bloated egos, false sense of importance that he really did appreciate it when someone, anyone was grounded. The two spent the entire dinner talking, laughing, neither really noticing that the other restaurant goers and workers were staring at them—they rarely saw their Lord Kazekage so happy, and now he seemed to be glowing almost as he had dinner with this woman.

As the two walked back to the mansion, Ami couldn't help but smile as the lanterns that lined the streets lit up strand by strand. The stars above them seemed especially bright that night, a half moon rising over the city's walls. It was simply beautiful. "This has to be one of the best birthday's I've ever had. Thank you Gaara." Smiling up at him before chuckling "I can't believe I'm twenty one… feels like just yesterday we were teenagers. And you're twenty good lord—Can't believe we're adults." Brushing her long hair out of her face as they walked, keeping close to the man next to her.

The woman was more than grateful that they were walking at night and he wouldn't be able to see the blush that she was almost one hundred percent sure was on her cheeks. It was hard in situations like this to keep from telling him about her feelings. It made her think that they could possibly work out, that they could be together, when she was fairly sure that they couldn't. Gaara was horrible with emotions, she had been there almost every single time that one of his fan girls had confessed their love to him and every single time he froze up for about twenty solid minutes. When he came back to his senses he spent the rest of the day in what she referred to as a "Mute Panic". She loved the man but she had to admit, he was more horrible with emotions than anyone else she had ever met. He could barely handle it when one of his siblings said that they loved him.

Gaara smiled down at her, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, "I'm glad you had a good time, I was afraid that you wouldn't like it. I can't plan big parties like Temari or Kankuro can." Walking her to where they lived, holding open the door for her to let them both in. The man stared down at her after he had closed the door, very much trying to restrain from kissing her like he wanted to. Or hold her. Or tell her he loved her. He wanted to do anything with her if it would make her smile. The man remembered how he felt just a few days ago when she had simply put her hand on his cheek; he wanted to feel that again. Finding himself leaning in to kiss her he froze and panicked for a moment before hugging her—knowing that she would probably go with that better than him suddenly kissing her. Trying to keep from panicking too much he let her go after a few moments, before nodding and backing away a few steps. "I'm going to go to bed—good night, happy birthday."

She stood in that spot for a few moments as he walked away, very much confused about what happened. Seeing the man she loved rush up the stares like rabid animals were chasing him, she stayed quiet for a few moments before finally speaking. "Goodnight…?"


	7. Blind Date

Gaara had a problem. He wanted very much to be with Ami romantically. He wanted to hold her, kiss her, make her happy, make her laugh, be there when she was sad, be there when she was angry, be there for every single moment in her life.

But he couldn't.

He couldn't see any conceivable way that Ami would have feelings for him. Gaara had learned that almost every single woman that had feelings for him, or even just the fan girls that liked his apparent "Good looks", were vapid, talkative, and usually somewhat rabid whenever he came near… Ami wasn't like that. She wasn't anything like that. She was down to earth, she was grounded, she was calm most times but she was a fighter for what she believed in. The man was also quite fond of the fact that she wasn't scared of him at all, he knew for a fact that if he did something wrong, or if he stepped out of line she would call him out.

Sometimes it involved him getting yelled at by the smaller blonde woman, but he'd be dammed if he didn't like that she treated him like an equal and always had. Even when they were younger and he was a self-admitted… for lack of a better phrase crazy as hell she didn't put up with his crap.

Ami had evaluated very early on after meeting him that he wouldn't kill her. Not that he could because of the talisman that she wore, but she realized that he wouldn't attack her either. She had called him out quite often when they were younger; she continued to do it now that they were older. It was one of the things that he loved the most about her. She didn't let anyone treat her poorly.

But that was all off track, none of that was important. The Kazekage had a list before him of men that he knew for a fact that Ami was friends with, and he was going to go down the list, figure out who she was in love with, set them up on a date and make sure they were happy. He knew Ami well, and he knew perfectly well how protective of him she was—that was probably why she hadn't gone on any dates with the man she loved. If he had one of his siblings take over for her—Temari and Kankuro were literally the only two that she trusted to look after him in her stead—she would be able to go out and have fun with the man she loved.

He would be left feeling lonely and probably in a extremely foul mood but at least she would be happy right?

Coming up with three names at the end of the process he called in the first man, soon enough setting up Ami for the first date. Itetsu was grinning wide—apparently he had very strong feelings for Ami and was more than excited to find out that she might love him. Bowing before leaving cheerily, passing Ami on the way out and happily saying that he was glad she felt the same way and he would see her later. The blonde woman looked extremely confused as she walked into Gaara's office, handing him a mug of coffee "What… what's going on with Itetsu? What did he mean by that?"

Thanking her for his coffee he smiled up at her, "I set you up on a date tonight with him. I don't want you to be chained to my side at all times—I'm sure it gets extremely annoying. I want you to be happy so he's taking you out tonight at eight."

The woman stared at him in a great amount of confusion. Sitting down in one of the chairs in front of his desk, Ami just stared at Gaara for a few minutes as she tried to figure out why he was doing this. Assuming that he just wanted time for himself she put on a small smile. "Alright… I mean I guess it wouldn't hurt to go out." Brushing the hair out of her face, she went back to writing letters to her family.

That night with Itetsu was fun enough she supposed, but she didn't feel anything towards the man. Itetsu was nice, kind, outgoing, she loved having him as a friend. But as a romantic partner she couldn't see it. Walking with him back to the mansion late that night, pulling her hand away when he tried to hold it Ami felt quite awkward. Had Gaara told Itetsu that she was in love with him? That was the feeling that she was getting from this entire outing. The brunette man smiled down at her when they finally got to the porch, "I had a wonderful time tonight Ami! We should do this again huh?"

"Look Itetsu…" pausing to try and think of what to say Ami was quite for a few moments, "I see you as a friend. I don't know what Gaara told you but I'm very sorry. I don't feel the same way about you that you do about me. I'd love to hang out once in a while as friends but nothing more. I'm very sorry. You're a wonderful man and I'm sure you'll find someone some day."

Itetsu's eyes widened quite considerably, a ruby red blush coming quickly to his face. "You don't—oh goodness I'm so sorry. Lord Kazekage said that you were in love with someone and he was sure it was me so I just.. I'm so sorry." Chuckling extremely nervously "I'd love to keep being your friend. Thank you. Have a nice night Ami."

The blonde woman watched for a little bit as her date rushed off—frowning a bit. Why was Gaara so interested in who she loved? It didn't make sense to her. Shaking her head before walking inside, Ami kicked off her shoes before closing the door. Calling out to her housemates as she headed up to her room, Ami announced herself. "I'm home from my date! Going to take a bath alright?" The woman stripped off and ran the hot water, filling up the bathtub before getting in and simply relaxing. The night had been all right but all in all she felt incredibly stressed by all of this.

Temari sat on Gaara's desk in his room, arms crossed as she frowned at him. "Let me get this straight. You love Ami and instead of telling her how you feel you decided it would be a better idea to set her up with someone that she doesn't have any romantic feelings for?" questioning her youngest brother's reasoning for all of this nonsense she pursed her lips. "She's not in love with any of the men you think she is, and I cannot figure out how you do not know who she is actually in love with."

The redhead looked towards the door, a bit worried that Ami had heard what his sister had said. Hearing the water running he relaxed slightly. "I want her to be happy Temari. Dating makes people happy— being in love makes people happy—" sea foam green eyes widening when she said that Ami wasn't in love with any of the men on the list he had constructed "You know who she loves? Who is it? I want to know who it is—" glaring as Temari chuckled and told him he would have to find out on his own he watched her leave his room before sighing.

Love was going to be his ruin—of this he was one hundred percent sure. He wasn't able to pay attention during meetings; he wasn't able to think of anything else besides Ami. He felt like he was in actual pain whenever he thought about her being in love with someone else he had no idea what to do. Feeling something strange well up within him, Gaara massaged his temples. The Kazekage felt the same way he did when he was a young child and saw happy families on the street. How he used to feel when he saw people going out with his friends. He hadn't felt this sort of jealousy in so long but whenever he thought about Ami with another man, any man at all it felt like someone stabbed him in the heart.

Ami got dressed into her pajamas—tempted to just head straight to bed but deciding that visiting Gaara and stopping all of this before it got out of control was the best idea. The woman knocked on the closed door, smiling at Temari when she noticed the other woman was looking at her from her own room's doorway. "Gaara? I'm coming in." opening the door and smiling at him, closing the door behind her as she strode over to the bed where he was sitting and plopping herself down next to him. "Look. I appreciate what you tried to do by setting me up with Itetsu; I know your heart was in the right place. But please don't do it anymore. I'm fine with how things are right now. You don't need to try and get me a boyfriend or anything like that."

Feeling more relieved than he probably should at her statement he smiled and nodded. "Alright then. I'm sorry Ami. I just wanted you to be happy." Barely noticing as the sand that usually made up his sand armor lifted off of him slowly and slowly poured itself back into his gourd, Gaara wondered to himself what he was going to do. This couldn't go on for much longer. He would go mad if this went on forever. The man had the sinking suspicion that he was going to confess his feelings any day now and he had no idea how that would pan out in any sort of way besides poorly.

The woman's green eyes narrowed a bit as she looked at the man next to her. Ever since she had told him a few weeks prior that she was in love he had been acting differently. Her first suspicion was that he had feelings for her but him setting her up on a date directly contradicted that theory.

He looked almost… ill lately. He had been getting less sleep; he hadn't been eating much at all.

She was worried about him. Ami reached out and held one of his hands in hers, smiling at him very softly. "Are you alright Gaara? You've been acting strange. Maybe you should take a few days off, you look like you're getting sick." Sighing when he remained silent she shook her head. There really was no use in trying to get him to tell her what was going on, she had been trying for weeks now and had failed continuously. "Alright then. I'll leave you to whatever you were doing then. Have a nice night Gaara." Ami drew her hands away from his; going back to her room and laying down—trying to stop thinking about him so she could calm down enough to sleep.


	8. I Love You

Ami felt good. She had finally convinced Gaara to take a few days off from work—with the backing of the counsel who had also noticed that he had seemed sick for the past few weeks. Temari and Kankuro were off doing his duties, as she made sure he rested, a seal that could only be removed by her was on his home office door—locking him out.

Walking over to his room and letting herself in, chuckling when she saw him reading with a very annoyed expression on his face. "What's wrong Gaara? Angry that you can't be going to meetings with people that you don't like and do boring paperwork?" rolling her eyes when he began to read once more she sat down on his desk, Ami's smile turned into a more gentle one—her tone of voice losing its teasing and joking quality.

"I don't understand why so many of you think I'm sick. There is nothing wrong with me at all." Dog-earing his page in the book—repressing the smile that threatened to come up when she described his job. It was an accurate description to say the least, but that didn't mean that he didn't still love his job.

The woman gave the man before her an incredulous look, "Really? There's nothing wrong with you? You're not sleeping, you're barely eating, you're not paying attention during meetings at all—" seeing the shocked look on her face when he heard her last statement "The counsel has been talking to me, they noticed too. It's not just me and Temari and Kankuro—Everyone is worried about you Gaara. Tell me what is wrong, please." Getting very close to pleading with the man she loved and guarded, Ami was becoming almost desperate at this point.

Staring at her for several minutes as he tried to think of something to say. Why was this so hard? He was the Kazekage and he couldn't tell a woman that he loved her. He had faced demons; S-ranked criminals, his dead father and he couldn't tell a woman that he loved her. Ami had a point though; this was getting out of control at this point. Maybe coming clean would help him focus and get back to his normal self. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Gaara steeled himself for what he was about to say and the possible consequences of it. "Ami. I'm in love with you. It's why I asked you to be my guard, it's why I gave an alliance to your home village to make sure you stayed here, it's why I've been so distracted lately. This didn't bother me much until I learned you were in love with someone. I'm sorry for worrying you."

Ami stared at him wide eyed for a very long time—processing what he just said. "You… wait… what?" running a hand through her hair, he felt the same way? She had known him, protected him, been friends with him for years and she hadn't known that he had feelings for her. A smile broke out on her face as she began to laugh, she hadn't ever dreamed that this would happen. This was wonderful! This was amazing—this was everything she had never even dared to hope for. Seeing the hurt look that he had on her face when she began to laugh she walked over to him and took his hand, Ami pulled him up so he was standing with her. "Gaara, I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you since I was eighteen." Giggling when his eyes widened in shock and surprise, Ami pulled him into a tight hug laughing when he slowly wrapped his arms around her waist and held her as close as he could.

The redhead didn't really know how to react to all of this; he hadn't even considered that she could love him in return. He hadn't thought that anyone could truly love him. Not in anything more than the superficial sense that his fan girls said they loved him. Feeling frozen almost, Gaara tried to decide on what to do. The man settled on just holding her close, enjoying how it felt to actually be able to do this. Enjoying her touch, enjoying her scent, enjoying everything. "I'm… I'm glad… What do we do now?"

Cupping her love's face gently in her hands as he continued to hold her tightly. "We don't really have to do anything—except you need to sleep alright? Get a lot of rest. That's why you took the day off." Pressing their lips together very gently before pulling away from their embrace, Ami smiled at him. "Take a nap alright? I'll wake you up when it's time for dinner." The woman turned to walk away when she felt a strand of sand wrap around her waist and pull her back to the bed where he was laying down.

Holding her close to him and using his sand to cover them with the blanket, the corners of Gaara's mouth twitched upwards into a smile "I have been wanting to hold you like this for too long to wait any more now that I know you feel the same way." Not even attempting to do anything sexual with her, he didn't want to anything that could possibly ruin the moment. Gaara opened his mouth to speak to her about what they were now, until he noticed how her breathing had evened out and she had fallen asleep. Chuckling slightly as he closed his eyes and began to drift off into sleep, the man decided that the conversation could wait until after dinner.


	9. Naptime

Temari didn't know what she expected when she walked into her youngest brother's room, but Gaara asleep with Ami cuddling up to him while she slept as well was definitely not it. Knowing how light of a sleeper the red head was she motioned for Kankuro to come and look at the sight as she smiled wide at him, Temari whispered "Kankuro! I think they finally got together—"

The brunette man peered in, seeing Gaara and Ami together he smiled wide "Seriously? That's great!" chuckling when Gaara's head shot up at the noise, making a thumbs up motion towards him. "Good job baby bro! You landed a good one. Try and stay still though or you'll wake her up—" winking at him before walking to the kitchen to make dinner for all of them, Kankuro grabbed Temari's sleeve and dragged her with him so they could leave the new couple alone.

Not even trying to conceal the glare on his face that was directed towards his siblings, Gaara still did his best to stay still. Ami was lying right next to him, her head resting on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her and holding her close. The man knew very well that his love was only slightly less of a light sleeper than he was and if he moved too much or made much noise she would probably wake up immediately.

He didn't want that, he liked how peaceful she looked in his arms like this. Was it weird to watch her sleep like this? He wasn't really sure. Gaara was half tempted to ask his siblings about it later but he really wasn't sure if they would give him any answer that wasn't a joke.

Or that they wouldn't make fun of him. They did that a lot, it was quite literally turning out to be the bane of his existence.

Chuckling softly to himself when Ami's green eyes immediately opened when Temari called them down for dinner, Gaara grabbed her arm and kept her in the bed when she almost fell up. She always got like this after naps, he had actually seen her fall out of her bed once after one—she had been confused as to where she was and had just rolled off. "Hold still—you're about to roll off the bed Ami."

"Wait—what—" looking around and quickly remembering what was going on and why she was in his bed she smiled a bit sheepishly at him, hearing Temari call them down for dinner again Ami got out of the bed—holding out her hand and tugging on Gaara's hand gently. "Let's go get something to eat yeah? And you better eat everything on your plate for once—You haven't been eating nearly enough." The blonde woman walked downstairs with him hand in hand, it wasn't Temari and Kankuro judging their relationship that she was worried about. She knew that they would support her and Gaara if they dated… it was every one else that she was worried about.

She had seen the list of women that the counsel had suggested for Gaara to court, all of them were from very prestigious clans and large villages that could result in wonderful treaties. Her village barely had five hundred inhabitants, and was still hated by most of the larger five villages who still clung to the belief that her village attacked them all with demons, Konaha and Suna being the only notable exceptions.

The more she thought about it the more worried she became.

Banishing the thoughts from her head as she and Gaara walked into the kitchen, both resuming their regular places at the table. The dinner was filled with questions and teasing from both Kankuro and Temari like expected. Soon enough it was just Ami and Gaara once more, washing dishes together.

The redheaded Kazekage looked down at the woman next to him, wondering if the same thoughts of how they were going to get the counsel to approve this had crossed her mind as well. Drying one of the plates he was handed when he finally spoke. "Does this mean that we are… dating?" that felt a bit strange to say. He wanted to marry her one day, but he knew full and well despite how bad he was at social interactions that marrying someone who you hadn't even gone on a first date with was a bad idea.

"I think so? I mean if we're in love it makes sense that we're dating. That being said I don't know how well the counsel will like this… What are we going to do?" a bit concerned as to what could happen, she knew full and well Gaara was the most stubborn man in all of Suna and quite possibly all of the universe if she didn't count the men in her own family—but if he courted a woman that they didn't like they would stonewall him at every single possibly moment.

It would be awful.

Gaara stayed silent for a few moments as he thought, continuing to dry the plates, "I think we should tell them that we are together, and I don't care what they think. I know several of the counsel members would rather that I was with you than for me to continually reject every single woman they say that I should court, which I have actually been doing…" smiling when he heard her chuckle softly he looked down at her once more when they were done cleaning. "We will… make it work. Don't worry about it Ami. We'll go to the counsel in the morning and tell them that we're together." Tilting her head up very gently with his index finger before pressing their lips together, Gaara wrapped his arms around her waist.

He liked this, he liked kissing her, holding her, most of all he liked being able to do these things without having to wonder or worry about her getting mad or upset at him. Smiling as she rested her head on his chest, Gaara played with her long blonde hair in between his fingers, simply enjoying holding her.

(Oh wow sorry this took so long! But life kinda got in the way and asl;dkjfa;sdlkfj. So I'm going to try and make the next chapter much longer than this to make up for it. I would really love it if you all reviewed and told me what you thought about the story so far! The plot is going to thicken soon guys! Get super duper excited!)


	10. Memories

_Ami was curled up in her bed, crying her green eyes out. This hurt. This hurt worse than anything than she had ever experienced before. Her sole reason for living had been to protect Gaara from people who wanted to take advantage of the demon inside of him and she had failed. Shukaku had been extracted from him, and it was nothing short of a miracle that Gaara was alive. Now she would have to leave her home._

_ Walking into the door of the mansion, Kankuro could hear her sobbing all the way from downstairs. After she had gotten back from the hospital she had been all right for the most part—still sad about what happened but she hadn't been like this. Then she had gotten a letter from her clan saying they would be sending over a committee to review whether she should stay in Suna now that she had failed as a keeper. The girl had been putting on a brave face in front of her housemates but all three of them knew that she had been crying when she was alone. The counsel of Suna had prohibited her from guarding Gaara any longer, saying that they did not want to get into a dispute with her clan. _

_ The brunette man sighed before walking up to her room and slamming open the door, "Get up—we're training." Seeing her look at him in shock and wipe her tears away quickly, "We are training until you aren't upset any more. You've got five minutes to get ready, meet me downstairs in the foyer." Leaving the room as abruptly as he came in he went to his work shop and grabbed several of his fighting puppets, taking out the vials of poison within them so he wouldn't actually harm the girl if he landed a hit. _

_ Her eyes still red and puffy when she got downstairs, Ami adjusted the holster on her thigh filled with kunai, and throwing stars. The sword she had stopped carrying on a daily basis ever since she had been put on what her clan and the Suna counsel called "Probation", back in its sheath on her hip. Ami really didn't know what to say to her housemate while they walked to the older training grounds on the outskirts of the village— one of the biggest things she had been taught and had learned, was to conceal when she was upset because her charge would react poorly. When they first met Gaara couldn't care less if or when Ami was upset but ever since they became friends if he saw her angry, or more recently when he saw her cry his chakra would change from the warm blanket that constantly covered her to feeling like broken glass and daggers. _

_ The red head would never voice his feelings, but Ami could more than tell that her mood rubbed off on him. _

_ Kankuro took off the scroll on his back, summoning the three eyed, four-armed humanoid, brown haired puppet that she had grown all too familiar with in her years spent in the same house with Kankuro. The man got in position; "We are going to fight until you can't feel sorry for yourself anymore. I don't care if it takes all day. Come at me with your all Ami, because that's what I'll be coming at you with." A smile grew on his face when he saw the determination begin to fire up in the girl across from him on the training grounds. That was what he wanted. He would never admit it, but he had grown fond of the girl through the years. She was like a younger sister to him—and he could never voice how much he appreciated her taking care of Gaara through the years. _

_ The blonde girl immediately launched herself at the puppet, jumping into the air and unsheathing several kunai from her holster—loading them with chakra before throwing them at the puppets joints. Unsheathing her sword she swung her arms, decapitating the puppet while it was immobilized. _

_ Ami had to admit; this was a very welcome distraction from all that was going on. Chuckling softly when Kankuro manipulated the puppet—making the kunai pop out of its joints so it could move again. She hadn't expected this to be an easy fight in the slightest—she didn't want this to be an easy fight. _

_ The two fought until the midday sun had set—the desert air now cooling rapidly. Kankuro's face paint had been smudged and was sweating off—a black eye now blooming on his face from where Ami had landed a hit on the man. He was sore all over and almost out of chakra, they had been fighting for hours and she had disabled all of his puppets—fighting him in hand to hand combat now. _

_ The girl too was exhausted—her punches no longer had much power behind them, nicks and scratches all over her body from where his puppet's attacks had landed. It felt like she was walking through quicksand with lead shoes, her entire body was growing more and more heavy. Gasping for air, Ami looked up at Kankuro "You… you took out the poison from the puppets right?" falling to the ground in a sitting position she closed her eyes—the familiar splitting headache that kept coming to her ever since she fractured her skull the month prior coming back as she remembered what her doctor had said about "taking it easy". _

_ Kankuro nodded, "Of course I remembered— why?" seeing the way the girl was moving he paused for a few moments before checking his puppets to see that he really did remove all the vials of poison. All the compartments for the vials were empty, so he did in fact take out the vials. Then why was she looking so sick? If poison was in there she would be dead by now. Spotting the blades on his puppets the man pursed his lips before gently touching one of them with the pad of his index finger, swearing under his breath when he saw the oily substance that was on them. He had taken out the vials of poison yes, but had forgotten to clean off the blades of any poison that was on them. Kankuro looked back at the kunoichi, a bit reassured by the fact that she was still able to move. She had been getting small doses all through their sparring so there was a trace amount of poison in her system, but not nearly enough to cause any considerable damage to her. _

_ Sealing all of his things in the large scroll he kept on his back before helping Ami up and pulling her arm over his shoulders as he put a hand around her waist to keep her upright and help her walk. The blonde girl looked up at him, "Kankuro—did you poison me?" seeing the guilty look on her face she groaned, "Please tell me you have the antidote at home and that we don't need to go to the hospital—"_

_ "You'll be fine—you don't have much in your system. Stop worrying." Headed back to the mansion slowly, he was exhausted from all the training and carrying her was not an easy feat. "So are you feeling better? I'm getting sick of you moping around the house all the time." _

_ Ami chuckled softly, he wouldn't say it out loud but she could hear in his tone that he had been worried about her. No matter how hard Kankuro tried to hide that he cared for other's besides his siblings it still showed through at times. "Thank you Kankuro, I do feel better." _

The blonde looked out the window—smiling as she remembered that day with Kankuro several years prior. So much had changed in those few years. She was no longer Gaara's keeper but his head bodyguard, she had gone from seeing Gaara as a friend to being in love with him, a war had started and ended… so much had changed. Looking at a picture of her family that had been taken before she left for Suna, her mother, father, all four of her older siblings, herself, and her three younger siblings huddled together and grinning widely. Even that had changed; her mother had given birth to seven more children since Ami had moved to Suna to be Gaara's keeper—leaving her with fifteen siblings.

Ami had been waiting patiently outside of the counsel's chambers, she could hear the voices of the members arguing inside—able to feel Gaara's chakra spike in anger and frustration several times throughout the meeting so far. She could only assume that they were arguing about her being with him. Speaking softly even though her love couldn't hear her, "You can do it Gaara… keep calm."

There were three reasons so far that Gaara hadn't lost his temper as half of the counsel berated his choice on a partner. The first was the fact that he could feel Ami's chakra through the wall like a warm haze that surrounded him like a blanket. The second was that, at the very least, his old teacher Baki was on his side and trying to convince the other men that Gaara had made a good choice. Speaking up once more, Gaara tried to convince the rest of his choice. "She is from a good village, a good family, and frankly councilmen I remember just last week you telling me that you didn't care which woman I chose as long as I finally chose someone. I love this woman, I will be with this woman no matter what you say, and I intend to marry her one day."

The entire room fell quiet at Gaara's mention of love. Even his old teacher had not thought that Gaara could love someone. Not romantically at least. Finally one of the oldest members of the council spoke up in a weary voice, they had been arguing about this for the past few hours and he could not see the use of doing this any more. The Lord Kazekage was horribly stubborn and he knew for a fact that any man who was truly in love would not be swayed easily into casting off the person that he loved. "We won't win this Gentlemen. Let him court the girl, she's strong and a direct descendant from the Sage of Six Paths, he's chosen better than most of the women that we've put on our lists. "

Slowly one by one the councilmen either gave in and provided their blessing of the couple, or gave up trying to fight it. They were tired of trying to fight this after so many hours. Soon enough the meeting was over and done with, Ami looking up as the men left the room. Trying to stifle the smile on her face, they almost all had a look of annoyance on their face. Seeing Gaara come out last—a small yet triumphant smile on his face she finally stood up. Her first instinct was to reach out and hold his hand like they did so much in private, but she was not sure if that was appropriate in public. She wasn't sure of many things yet to be quite truthful.

Feeling a small, slender rope of sand wrap itself around her wrist and bring her hand to his, guiding her fingers until they were intertwined with Gaara's, Ami smiled as they walked out of the building and down the street to the mansion. "I take it things went well? You were in there for a long time."

"It went better than expected, they gave in much sooner than I thought. Baki and several other council members approved the whole time, it was the older half that were opposing the most." Ignoring the stares of shock from his villagers as he walked down the street hand in hand with the blonde woman he continued to speak. "We wore them down, I think they got tired of all the arguing after a while." Walking into the mansion with her, Gaara let go of her hand and shed his gourd, propping it up against the entry hall's wall.

Ami grinned at Temari and Kankuro when she entered the kitchen, pouring herself a cup of green tea. Making small talk with the other two as she flipped through the mail she had gotten from her home village, a frown soon growing on her face as she muttered under her breath in her village's dialect. Temari peered over the other blonde's shoulder, seeing that Ami was looking at a ballot of some sort. "What's that for?"

"The faction of my clan that I'm a part of is thinking of making some Inugami in case the village gets attacked and wants to know my opinion on the whole thing… they're also thinking of keeping a few other demons on retainer just in case…" seeing the look of confusion on the other's faces, "I always forget that this village doesn't teach these things when you're in school like mine does. Inugami are demons that can be created by humans. It's a horrible process, you bury a dog up to the neck in dirt and put food right outside of it's reach until it starves to death. After that you decapitate it and it becomes a demon called an Inugami that will obey the orders of the family that it belongs to. They rebel quite frequently, it's not uncommon for them to kill off the entire family while they sleep and then eat them. They're great for fighting though, they can control minds and make people kill others."

Temari stared at the girl in shock and horror, "That's awful—your clan wants to do that?" watching as Ami checked off the 'no' box on the ballot measure and wrote a note about why she disagreed on them using Inugami.

Shaking her head as she checked off several more boxes regarding taxes, temple upkeep, and other things. " My faction does. My clan has about five hundred people in it, so we are split into factions. They get formed if a woman has enough children. So since my mom has over ten kids, she and all of my brother's and sister's and me make up our own faction. Same with all of my nephew's and nieces. There are about twenty-five factions in the clan and all of them besides mine, the Senju faction, have multiple Inugami under retainer." Finishing the ballot she rolled up the scroll and re-addressed it back to her home village, Ami put it back in the basket in the kitchen full of mail that was to be sent out. "I doubt we'll make one, my mother and my three older sister's are the ones in charge of our faction and they all hate Inugami…"

The talk between the three continued—all of them joking around as Gaara made dinner, Kankuro and Ami helping set the table for the hot pot full of meat, vegetables, and noodles that the Kazekage made. Temari hummed a soft tune as she brewed more green tea for all of them to drink with dinner. The dinner itself was nice—all of them complimenting Gaara on his cooking. It wasn't too long ago when he could barely cook at all and he had to be taught how to do the most basic things.

Ami was almost one hundred percent certain that the reason he made rice porridge and hot pots so often wasn't because he enjoyed them, but because they were the easiest things to make. Not that it mattered to her, the food was really wonderful—but the thought still amused her.

Slipping onto the roof after she bathed and got changed into her pajamas, sitting next to Gaara as she looked out on the dimly lit village—the stars appearing more and more bright with each home that turned off the lights within. The red head set his hand gently on top of his love's, still not one hundred percent sure what were good ways to show emotion towards her, but he knew that holding hands was acceptable.

A small blush crept its way onto his cheeks—the pale pink working its way from his ears and onto his face. Gaara spoke up, a question that had been nagging at the back of his mind all day finally coming out of his mouth. "Does your family know about us?". Frowning a bit at himself—that wasn't what he wanted to ask. He was more concerned about how her family would react to them being together. Gaara knew for a fact that Ami had told them every time he had killed someone in his youth, every time he had let Shukaku loose… he would not be surprised in the slightest if they didn't approve.

"Hmm? Well we only started dating about… a day and a half ago, so I don't think the letter I sent has gotten there yet." Chuckling a bit as she looked at him, surveying his nervousness. Ami squeezed his hand in her own, "Don't worry about if they'll approve or not Gaara. They will. They know you've changed. It will all work out, don't stress about it." Kissing his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder, feeling him relax as the moon rose above the city's walls Ami wondered if so much had changed in the past few years, how much would change in the next few years to come.


	11. Changes

Gaara liked this. Ever since he and Ami had started dating she had slept in his room every night—granted it was usually because he used his sand to lift her into his bed, but she never protested. For the past month he had slept better than he had ever since Shukaku had been taken out of him. The man just felt much more at peace when he was holding the blonde woman in his arms, he couldn't explain it. Playing with a stray strand of her hair as he waited patiently for Ami to wake up. The only problem with their new sleeping arrangement was that he could no longer leave his bed without waking her up. Sighing softly he let his mind drift back to seven years before.

"_Minamoto. I want you to teach me how to control Shukaku." The thirteen year old red head had let himself into his Keeper's room, he had just told his brother that he intended to become Kazekage, and to do that he would need to control the demon within him. "Can you do that? Can you teach me?" The boy didn't quite trust the girl in front of him yet. Not like he trusted Temari and Kankuro. For all he was concerned she was a nuisance that followed him around all day, every day. _

_The blonde girl raised an eyebrow, Gaara had changed ever since he had gotten back from Konaha a few months ago, but he still treated her with the same indifference that he always did. Although his attempts to try and use his sand to harm her were at an all time low, which she couldn't complain about. Even though she wore the talisman that protected her she didn't like that her charge used to try to attack her about once a week. "Don't doubt my skills as a keeper Gaara. Pack your mission bag, we'll go outside the village to a safe place and I'll have you able to control Shukaku in less than a month." Standing up she began to pack her own bag—frustrated by his lack of faith in her abilities and his callous attitude. _

_It was easier than she expected to convince the counsel to let them leave the village for so long—all she had to say is that Gaara wanted to learn to control the demon within him and they all but pushed them out of the village gates. _

_Ami lead Gaara to an isolated spot about ten kilometers away from the village—the walls of Suna no longer in sight. "I picked this spot a long time ago—it's got everything we need." Taking off her backpack and tossing it near an abandoned well, Ami walked over to Gaara and made him take off his gourd and his pack as well. "This training is going to be intense. It's going to make you angry. It's going to make you want to give up on all the progress you've made so far. Are you sure you want to do this Gaara?" a smile came to her face when he nodded, Ami reaching into the pouch on her hip and pulling out a small paper seal with the character for 'Release' written on it. Smacking it onto Gaara before he could react she immediately jumped back to a safe distance as he began to transform quickly. _

_He had turned into Shukaku in record time—the demon roaring at his newfound freedom. Before the behemoth could take a step though, Ami had attached another seal to a Kunai—hitting the demon in its shoulder. The young girl watched triumphantly as ropes of chakra tied the demon to the ground, the fearsome beast spread eagle on its stomach. Looking at the human in front of it, Shukaku growled. He knew that type of chakra. It was the same as the man who had created him. This must be Gaara's keeper. He had never gotten such a good look at her before; usually she had resealed him back inside of his host by now. "Did you bring me out simply to bind me down girl?" _

_The blonde nodded while smiling brightly, most of her confidence coming from the fact that he was bound and couldn't harm her. Stepping closer to him, Ami spoke up, "I did actually! Gaara wants to become the Kazekage, and to do that he needs to be able to control you." Standing just a meter in front of the beasts face—looking up so she could look it in the eyes. "This will be happening many times in the next few weeks. Get used to it." Flash stepping to the top of Shukaku's head to where Gaara was; she stood in front of the red headed boy. "Gaara. I need you to focus your mind, and concentrate to get rid of Shukaku." _

_It took hours before Gaara was able to concentrate enough for his demon to finally start disintegrating, the sand that made him falling apart into dust. The mid day sun had long since set, the only light surrounding them was that of the moon and stars. If Ami had to guess it was about midnight when the demon had finally gone completely back into Gaara. The redhead was panting heavily, completely exhausted from this training. He couldn't even lift a finger. Looking over at Ami and glaring, "You didn't tell me you were going to force him out of me, Minamoto—"_

_Freezing where she stood—Ami stopped bringing water to him. She wasn't sure if it was the years of him treating her like she was the enemy or the exhaustion from trying to get him to control his demon but she was sick of this. Finally snapping after seven years of taking care of him. "You know what Gaara?" tossing his canteen at him, practically snarling as she spoke, "When you first came back from Konaha, Temari raved to me about how you were starting to change. And I was so hopeful. Because for the entire time I've lived here in Suna you've treated me like garbage. And I get that. I get that you're angry at the villagers for how they treat you, but you need to learn who is the enemy and who wants to be your ally. You haven't changed one bit. You're still the brat who treats people like garbage because you're too much of a coward to let them get close to you." Not caring that his eyes widened in shock and what she was pretty sure was a shred of hurt as he struggled to sit up. "You don't have to like me. You don't have to be my friend, because honestly I don't know if you're able to let people close enough to you to be friends, but you will respect me and treat me like a human being. Do I make myself clear?"_

_Gaara stared at her in silence; he had never seen her get angry before. Not at him. He had never considered that he had hurt her, the boy had always thought that since he had never physically harmed her that he had been kind. _

_This made him reconsider. _

_Thinking about it, he wasn't even sure if he had ever once called her by her first name. He always addressed her as either 'Minamoto' or 'Girl'. Watching her go over to her pack and take out her sleeping bag, Gaara could hear her mutter under her breath about manners and common decency before falling asleep. _

_The next few weeks was full of some of the harshest training Gaara had ever been through, Ami would randomly put the 'Release' seal on him and he would have to try and keep from letting Shukaku out. It was hard and horribly frustrating, every time he failed to keep Shukaku within himself he would destroy one of the shrubs nearby their small camp. Despite all of this he still tried to treat the other better. He didn't want to be the person he used to be, someone consumed with hatred. _

_When it was all said and done, Ami was able to put a 'Release' seal on him and he would be able to keep the demon within him. Smiling wide when Gaara was finally able to control himself, tearing the seal off of him. "You did it! Gaara I'm so proud of you!" able to feel his chakra smoothing itself out from the usual angry sharp edges it had, Ami was guessing that he too was happy despite the fact he wasn't smiling. She wasn't sure if it was because she had finally called him out on how he acted, but ever since their first day of training he had been kinder. _

_Or Gaara's version of kind. He called her by her first name, he attempted to make small talk in between training sessions, and he tried to make dinner once a few days ago. The red head had failed miserably at the last two items on the list, but Ami could tell that he was putting forth an earnest effort, and that was really all that mattered to her. _

_As they made their way back to the village after a month, Gaara stayed quiet as Ami spoke about what training could be next. Apparently there were people that were able to control their actions and their demons when they got out, she would have to write her family for them to send scrolls regarding the subject but she had complete confidence that he would be able to do that as long as he applied himself. Looking at her as they walked, Gaara realized something that shook him deeply. The girl next to him knew him better than anyone else. When he left the house she was either on his tail in seconds, or at the place he was headed before he got there. She could tell his mood by his posture. She knew him inside and out, while he had never bothered to get to know her at all._

_Noticing that the wooden talisman was no longer hanging around her neck, Gaara finally spoke up. "What happened to your necklace? What's going to protect you?" _

"_Hmm? Oh the talisman? I threw it down the well about a week into training. I realized that you weren't going to try and hurt me anymore so I got rid of it since I don't need it anymore." Not thinking much of her show of faith in the boy, she walked through the gates of the village with her charge right as the sun was starting to rise. "If you keep acting how you're acting Gaara, and keep trying to make connections with people I have no doubt you'll be Kazekage one day. It'll be hard, but I bet you'll be able to do it." _

_Gaara stayed quiet for a few moments, letting her words sink in. "Thank you Ami." A few beats passed before he spoke up once more, looking at her curiously as they entered the mansion "Does this make us friends now?" _

_The blonde girl walked into her room, pausing at the doorway. Happy to sleep in her room once more after a month and take a nice long bath in an actual bath—not the small river that was by their camp. Turning to face Gaara with a smile. "We aren't yet. But I think we will be one day. Get some rest—you've been training hard." Closing the door on him and going into her room, leaving the redhead to stare at the door for a few minutes more before headed to his own room._

Ami shifted in bed, the blonde woman turning around and looking at Gaara drowsily as she woke up. "Hey… have you been up for a long time…?" giggling softly as he drew her closer to him, resting her head on his chest.

"I haven't. I just woke a little bit ago." Knowing that he should probably get out of bed soon and get ready for work, but not doing so. Gaara couldn't really see the harm in relaxing for just a few minutes longer with the woman that he loved.


	12. White Day Gift

Ami barely glanced up when her boyfriend strode into her room unannounced; she had been going over several training scrolls her oldest sister Aiko had sent to her. Like most of the jutsus Ami knew, she learned by reading the theory on them, then training them into perfection. It was harder, but it was the only way to learn the fighting techniques her clan used since she had no relatives in Suna. She had half a mind to ignore the man—she loved him to death but she still didn't like it when he barged into her room without any sort of warning. Glancing up at him, Ami looked annoyed until she saw the serious look on his face. "Is something wrong Gaara?"

Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. Three weeks ago had been Valentines Day, and like she had since they became friends, Ami had given him homemade chocolate. With White day, the day where boys and men returned the favor by giving gifts to the women who gave them chocolate, fast approaching in less than seven days Gaara was beginning to become concerned. The past years he had just given Ami a bar of white chocolate from the store near their house. His sister had always chided him on how it was a bad gift, but Ami had never complained.

Now though, now they were dating. Even he, in all of his social ineptitude, knew that a simple bar of chocolate was not a good gift for someone he was dating. "What am I supposed to give you now for White Day?" crossing his arms as he stared at her—his white Kage robes fluttering slightly in the breeze that her open window provided.

"Get me a bar of chocolate like you always do—" pausing for a few moments before looking back up at him in mild disbelief "Is that really the issue or is there something else? Because you look pretty wound up over some chocolate." To be honest she couldn't care less about the damned holidays about lovers. They weren't celebrated in her village at all, and she only ever gave chocolates to Gaara and Kankuro because Temari made her.

Gaara gave her a strange look of confusion. He knew that she wouldn't lie to him—she had never lied to him before. But surely she would want something more than chocolate now that they were dating? "Are you sure you don't want something else?" watching her shake her head he sighed before walking out of her room—trying to think of another thing to do for the holiday coming up.

A week later Gaara still had nothing. On the way to his office that morning he handed her the bar of chocolate that he always got her, watching in mild interest and a small amount of disappointment in himself as she thanked him for the chocolate and kissed his cheek. Ami looked up at her boyfriend, arching her eyebrow at the strange face he was making. "Is something wrong?"

"I tried all week to come up with something better than," Motioning to the bar of chocolate she was putting in the small pouch that was attached to her hip. "This. Doesn't it bother you that I'm not more romantic?" there was a slight pause before he continued his thought, "Or better with normal things couples do?"

The blonde looked at him in surprise for a few moments before laughing as they entered the capitol building. That was what was bothering him? That of all things was bothering him? Seeing the distressed look on his face when they finally got to his office, Ami did her best to calm herself down. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Stepping in front of him so they were face to face, she put both her hands on his shoulders, "Gaara, I know you. You aren't romantic. You're bad with expressing your emotions. We've been dating for three months now and you still have trouble saying I love you. And I don't care. I've known you since we were kids; I know what I signed on for. I love you for everything you are—and I know you love me too. You try your best and that's all I need. You show your love with your actions, not your words."

Staring at her for a few moments as he let her words sink in. Opening his mouth to speak and finding the words hard to come by, Gaara stayed silent for what he guessed to be a few minutes watching as Ami waited patiently. The redhead crashed her lips into hers, deciding to hell with it. If she didn't mind how he did things he would keep doing them. Putting one hand on the small of her back, running his other through her hair. When he pulled away he rested their foreheads together, Gaara smiled softly at his love. "I love you Ami."


	13. Drafted

Ami stared at the letter from her clan, trying to comprehend what it really meant. She had received notice that she was being drafted by her home village to fight off a large demon infestation and that she was to leave Suna for six months, but the only way they could do that was on her contract as a keeper right? That contract had a special clause for leaving their charge's village if there was an emergency at home.

She had thought though, that Gaara had signed traded an alliance with her village for her to stop being a keeper and to be his guard, or so he had told her. Looking up at her boyfriend who was reading over her shoulder, she could detect the anger boiling up beneath his cool exterior. "They can't do this. You are a shinobi of Suna—" he paused as his eyes widened a bit, looking as if a realization had crashed upon him like a tidal wave.

_The redhead was getting frustrated with all of this, the men and women in front of him from Ami's clan were being completely unreasonable. Her oldest brother Takehito was quite possibly the worst—interrupting him at any possible moment about various things. The fifteen year old Kazekage ran a hand through his hair, "I want to keep Ami here as a guard. It has come to my attention that our villages do not have an official peace treaty or alliance. If you let her stay here with me in Suna, I will forge an alliance in your village." He didn't know why he was fighting so hard to keep the blonde by his side, but he had grown fond of the woman. Thinking of her waiting back home at the mansion all alone he felt a pang of guilt. This mess would not have happened if he hadn't gotten kidnapped._

_Takehito paused and stared at the Kazekage—seeing out of the corner of his green eyes that his relatives seemed to like this idea. The man brushed a stray strand of shaggy brown hair out of his face before smiling for the first time in the negotiations. "That sounds wonderful Lord Kazekage. I believe I have an idea that will work for all of us.. Please allow us tonight to draft a contract for this transaction." Bowing before he led the other representatives out of the room._

_Gaara leafed through the contract the next day—everything seemed commonplace for transferring a Shinobi to a different village. Not bothering to read through it in detail, trusting his new guard's family enough that he didn't feel the need to. Signing it before passing it over to Ami, Gaara smiled as she signed. She would get to stay with him now._

"Dammit—" striding to his file cabinet and fishing out her contract in a panic—reading it in detail now. Pulling out her previous contract as a keeper, reviewing both side by side. They were practically the same. Both stating that she was merely being rented by Suna as someone to protect Gaara, both stating that if her work was unsatisfactory she could be returned to her home village, both stating that she could be drafted into serving in times of an emergency.

The blonde woman stared over the contracts, a sinking feeling in her heart. She wasn't surprised at all that her oldest brother had tricked Gaara. Takehito had always been one to manipulate others for his own gain. She couldn't completely blame him though, neither she nor her charge had read the entire contract, both had blindly trusted her family. A small sigh passed through her lips as she looked back on the letter. "They want me to be back in my home village by Friday. I'll have to leave tonight." Seeing the panicked look on Gaara's face she smiled at him gently, "We signed off on it Gaara, we have to honor it. I'll be gone for six months; you'll be all right without me. When I get there I'll speak to the Hanakage and he'll fix it I'm sure. Don't worry."

Gaara shook his head, that wasn't why he was worried, or at least not the biggest reason. They wanted her to fight demons, monsters, and beasts of all kind. He had heard her stories about the creatures that lived in the forest that surrounded her home village. How some were man-eaters, some ate souls, how horribly awful they could be. The man didn't want her anywhere near that. He wanted her to be safe with him in Suna. Things could hurt her here if he was attacked and she defended him, but nothing would try and eat her at the very least. Unable to find words to explain these feelings, he watched in a mute panic as the woman he loved accepted what was happening calmly, took the letter and left his office to go pack her things.

The Kazekage sat down in his chair, resting his head in his hands as he finally found words to say to her, quietly whispering them even though she had already left. "Please don't leave me."


	14. The Village Hidden In the Shadows

Gaara watched silently as Ami said goodbye to his siblings at the gate of the village, hugging them both and making jokes about what was happening. The blonde trying desperately to lighten everyone's mood, covering up her own feelings as she did so, forcing laughter and faking smiles along with Temari and Kankuro. The redhead stared down at his love when she came over to him, keeping a stoic face as she put a hand to his cheek and smiled at him. Gaara put his hand over hers, still marveling after all these months of being together how well her hand fit in his. "Don't fake that smile with me Ami…" watching the smile slowly slide off of her face—replaced with the look she always got on her face when she was trying not to cry. "We will pick you up when your draft is up… and take you home."

Allowing herself to be pulled close to him, wrapping both of her arms around his shoulders as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry… This will only be for six months though, it'll be alright." Doing her best to stay strong for him, knowing how he reacted when she got upset. Ami pressed her lips against his once more before pulling away from him, "I'll write you when I get there. The time will go by faster than you'll anticipate." Forcing herself to turn on her heels and leave the village quickly—knowing that if she stayed much longer she would never be able to go.

The blonde moved as quickly as she could—allowing the tears to fall freely down her face as she ran through the desert. Feeling incredibly stupid and angry at the moment, angry that her brother had tricked her and her love, angry that she was crying like a fool, angry that she had to be separated from her family and her home.

Her pace slowing down to a walk as the desert sand around her slowly shifted into grass and trees. How long had she been running? The moon was starting to rise above the treetops—escaping their grip as they tried to keep it on earth. This felt wrong. She couldn't sense Gaara's chakra anymore—something that always managed to put her in a sense of unease. After constantly tracking it for fourteen years, not being able to feel his presence felt wrong. Like she was missing something.

Like she was alone.

Ami let her mind wander back to her family, it would be nice to see them again. Maybe this could be a blessing in disguise? Pausing a bit when she thought of her family before continuing to walk, her oldest brother and second oldest sibling Takehito coming to mind. The woman gritted her teeth—she should have known not to trust him. That man had always struggled with the physical and jutsu aspects of being a ninja, and had honed his mind instead. He could play people like a violin, often bragging to her in his letters how he was rising through the ranks on almost entirely wit.

She wasn't nearly as surprised as she should be, she could imagine her brother's pride at being able to go home and say that he tricked the Kazekage. Thinking about it as she trudged on through the night, eventually stopping and setting up camp near a small riverbed. Ami slipped into her sleeping bag, silently deciding as she laid down to sleep for the first time alone in months, that she was definitely going to punch Takehito in the face when she got to her home village.

* * *

Gaara didn't even attempt to sleep—it felt too strange to have her out of the house now. The man holed himself up in his office, working through the night on paperwork, not speaking to either of his siblings when they checked up on him. The man didn't know how to handle this—he remembered when she left to visit her family about seven years ago for just a week and how he could barely stand that. How was he supposed to go six months without her now that they were in love and dating?

He found himself glancing up towards the door every so often, thinking that Ami would barge in any moment unannounced and nag him about not getting enough sleep like she always did when he stayed up too late. This was strange, she had only been gone for a few hours so far and he already missed her terribly. The man stared out of his office window—sea-foam green eyes unfocussed as he looked at nothing in particular. What was he going to do without her for six months? This was turning less and less about him missing his girlfriend and turning more and more into him missing the companion he had had since he was a small child.

He hated this. He hated that he had blindly trusted someone for once and they had tricked him. He hated that someone had taken his love away from him, even if it was just for six months. Finding himself very much wishing that his girlfriend punched her brother in the face like she had mentioned doing earlier before she left in an offhand joke, Gaara left his home office and went to the kitchen, brewing himself a pot of green tea.

This was going to be a long six months.

* * *

Ami arrived at her home village early the next afternoon, walking through the gates of the village the corners of her mouth turned upwards as she saw two of her older brothers Jirou and Sabarou waiting for her eagerly. Jirou beamed when he saw his little sister—the twenty three year old running towards her and hugging her tightly, "Ami! You've grown so much since I last saw you!" the platinum blonde grinning at his little sister, brown eyes looking at her as he pulled away. "I can't believe it's been six years!"

The blonde woman hugged her brother back, waving at Sabarou who had held back a bit. Her first instinct was to hug the ginger haired man, but if he was anything like he was when they were younger he was still horrible with displays of affection in public. "I'm so glad to see you all again. It's nice to be back. I wish it was under different circumstances though…" walking back with them to the compound she marveled at how things had changed since she had last visited her family, the village had grown quite a bit since she had last been. It was still a fraction of the size of Suna her home with just a population of nine hundred, but that was still larger than when she had moved away from the place.

As she walked through the gates of the large compound towards the back of the village, she craned her neck for familiar faces. Not finding many besides cousins she hadn't spoken to since she was a young child, Ami walked into her faction's section of the compound—greeting all of her siblings with a wide smile, hugging all that came to her. Kissing her mother and father on the cheek before going to settle into a spare room they had emptied out for her to stay in, Ami didn't expect to see her oldest brother Takehito smiling at her when she opened the door. "Hello Ami! I'm glad to see you, I'm sure you're glad to be away from that damn Suna—"

Ami didn't even think about it, seeing him brought back all of her bad feelings she had gotten over the past few days as she traveled because of the brunette before her tricking her and her love. Punching her older brother square in the face, growling as he stumbled backwards and fell onto the floor. "Takehito, please know three things. One; you have betrayed my trust and Gaara's trust by tricking me with that contract. Two; you damn sure deserved that punch—I cannot believe you let your prejudice against the big villages go so far as to do this. Three; if I hear you insult my family in Suna, I will punch you again." Grabbing him by the collar and throwing him out of her room—very grateful that the man was so much weaker than her. The blonde woman paused as she stared at the man on the floor— shaking her head in disgust before slamming the door in his face. "I can't believe I trusted you."


	15. Five More Months

Month One

May

The redhead Kazekage tried repeatedly to make himself adjust to his companion being gone through the first month—always reminding himself that she wasn't about to burst through the door like she usually did. Always looking up at when it hit two thirty in the afternoon because that is when she made him stop working for at least a half hour to take a break for tea or coffee, or to eat lunch if he had skipped it.

It was strange.

What was even stranger was to be on the receiving end of her letters—he had watched her write what had to have been hundreds of letters to her siblings and parents, but never once had he gotten a letter from her until now. Gaara remembered how he used to enjoy watching her write—the way she made the pen glide across the paper, how her handwriting always looked like it was straight out of a calligraphy guidebook even if she was rushing. He missed that.

Staring at the letter laid out on his desk— it didn't really seem real. None of this seemed real. Gaara read through the letter once more, trying to imagine her voice and her inflection as he went through it.

_Gaara,_

_Oh wow this feels strange doesn't it? Writing a letter to you for a change. Guess I got to get used to it huh? Anyways, we're almost one month down. Just five more months to go right? It'll fly by faster than you know. _

_We're starting to tackle the demon infestation effectively. The forest that surrounds the village is where most of the demons live, and at night they come into the village. The people who are keeper's currently have been going into the forest during the day and sealing demons, along with capturing them. While ex-keepers (like me) have been guarding the village at night. _

_I miss you so much, and I can't wait to see you in a few months. Are you doing well? Temari mentioned that you've been drinking a lot of tea lately, you usually do that when you're stressed. And that you've been holing yourself up in your home office, have you been sleeping? I know you're upset about all of this Gaara, but you can't go back to not sleeping. It's not healthy at all._

_Please take care of yourself alright? I worry about all of you. _

_I love you,_

_Ami_

_Ps, there should be a small bag of seeds with this, they're for your cactus garden. My little sister Midori works at a flower shop and said they would do well in Suna's climate. I hope they work!_

He had gotten the letter about three days ago and still didn't know how to respond. Temari and Kankuro had gotten letters the same day he had, and had responded that same day.

They were much better with words than he was though; even on his best days he was not one to go on long for speaking. Sighing he put his pen to paper and began to write.

_Hello,_

_I'm sorry this response is so late, I'm sure that you've already gotten Temari and Kankuro's letters and responded to them by now. It is very strange to be writing to you instead of watching you write to your family, but I suppose we will have to get used to it. _

_You didn't tell me if you were all right in your letter, are you? I've heard your stories about what some of the demons surrounding your village could do—I don't want you to get hurt. I want you to be in one piece when we come and pick you up._

_I am all right, it's been hard adjusting to you not being here but I am all right. Thank you very much for the seeds—I've planted them in my garden and they've already started to grow. _

_I love you and I miss you, please stay safe Ami._

_Gaara_

The red head strode to the roost where all of the hawks were—feeling a bit like his letter was not as good as the one she sent. He hoped he wouldn't mind, or that she wouldn't pry about how he was doing. The man himself didn't even know how he was doing. Gaara had never known how dependent he was on the other until she had left. Watching as a hawk flew off with his letter for a few moments before going back to his office, Gaara wondered how he was going to last five more months.

* * *

Ami was sore all over as she waited for a doctor to see her. The girl had just gotten off of her night shift of guarding the village, dressed in what used to be an entirely white, ex-keeper uniform before she had become covered in blood and dirt.

It hadn't been a good night, she had seen a lone woman roaming the streets earlier and when she had gotten near she was more than surprised when the woman neck began to stretch and grow. Ami was starting to hate the rokurokubi, demons that frequently walked the streets at night disguised as lonely and sick women. Typically they preyed on men who would try and harass them, but the one last night had seemed just hungry enough to go after and try to eat the blonde woman. Ami gently massaged the worst bitemark on her forearm— they were littered all over her body.

Sighing she stood up and left the hospital emergency room, not sure why she bothered to come. The entire village, even civilians had an animosity against ex-keepers who had been discharged because their charge had died because of their keepers failure to protect them. They saw them as failures who brought shame upon the village and their family. Ami walked down the street to the compound as the sun rose, knocking on the door of her older brother Jirou's house—smiling weakly at his wife. "Hello Kanade… is my brother home?" all but collapsing onto their floor, completely out of chakra and energy she could barely stay awake as her brother rushed over and carried her to the sofa to start healing her.

Five more months to go.


	16. Of Inugami and Eleven Page Letters

Month Two

June

Ami groaned softly in the summer heat, not because of the weather (This was much cooler than Suna this time of year, it was the only thing she liked about the village about the moment besides getting to see her family.) but because of what one of her fellow ex-keepers had shouted at her brother Takehito when he announced that all of them would be pulling double shifts at night since the infestation was only getting worse. "Why do you keep doing this to us? Why do the people who have live charges get to work during the day and we get the night?" slipping into the villages dialect, "Why do we have to almost get killed on a nightly basis while they do not?"

She already knew what her brother would say in return to the crowd of white clad Ex-keepers. It had been pounded into her brain since she had returned to her home village, hearing it over and over again. "Because you are all atoning for your sins!" staring straight ahead as she listened to the speech, her oldest sister and oldest sibling Aiko standing by her side in the crowd. She looked over at the tall twenty four year old woman, wondering how she was feeling about hearing her twin Takehito scream at them all for being sinners, neither women being exceptions. "You were all trained since the day you could walk, told since the day you could speak, how to protect your charge and keep them safe. And what did all of you do? You let them get killed. You were supposed to protect them and it was your failings that lead to their death! You work at night to repay the debt to the ones who you failed! You are all atoning for your sins."

The blonde woman could hear her older sister crying softly, Aiko's charge had died during an invasion of the village. It had been thirty jonin level ninja's against two chuunin's. It had really changed the other—Aiko had used to be a fiery, intense woman and was now incredibly timid. She had become a bit of a pacifist even, not even killing the demons they fought now.

Ami reached out and wrapped an arm around the taller woman, bringing her closer to herself in an attempt to comfort. Gaara was alive and well, but the fact that he had died at all still cut her to her core all these years later.

She didn't know if she'd ever begin to forgive herself.

It was one of the few reasons she didn't mind all this talk of atonement. She felt that if she hadn't failed in the first place she wouldn't be here. A small sad smile came to her face at the thought of Gaara finding out she still felt this way, she knew how confused he would become and how he would try and comfort her.

There was no comfort needed now though.

She accepted that she failed, she accepted that there was no way to fix what happened.

Ami had accepted this long, long ago and had sworn to become stronger because of it. She would take that defeat and make it into a blessing. She wasn't sure what controlled the universe, but she firmly believed they gave her a second chance in her life to protect Gaara.

He wasn't going to get hurt again. Not if she had any control over it.

Gaara stared intently at the small potted cactus on his desk—reaching out and gently running the pad of his fingertip along its red petals. The seeds Ami had sent him just the month before were doing wonderfully, all the cacti he had planted with them were flourishing.

The two months had seemed to be dragging on and accelerating at the same time, each day seemed to be endless without her there to keep him company. At the same time though, it still felt like just yesterday she had left him. The pain and anger he felt at her brother was still incredibly fresh.

Changing his sights to the letter in front of him, Gaara smiled softly at the sight of her words. He had gotten better at telling her inflections from just her letters, it was almost like she was there speaking to him.

Almost.

He still felt as though her letters were much more personal and intimate than his, but when he expressed this to her she had assured him his letters were just the same as if he was talking. Gaara looked at the letter he was drafting up, how formal and uptight it seemed. He really hoped he didn't actually talk like that.

He didn't think he actually talked like that.

This letter to her was incredibly longer than most that he wrote to her, they had just held the annual festival in the village where the entire population prayed for a healthy rain that year to refill their wells and make the rare herbs that grew around their village bloom from the sandy desert ground. It was a weeklong event that even made him feel a bit excited. All of his villagers happy and rejoicing together made him feel truly elated.

The festival this year though was the first that didn't have that effect, without Ami by his side to drag him around, crack jokes with his siblings, just simply be who she truly was, it was not nearly the same.

Still though, she had demanded he describe every single detail of the festival in his letter to her. Something that if anyone else had requested, he would be annoyed at having to do, but for her he didn't mind all too much. It was her favorite holiday of the year and he could tell even from her letters that she was sad about having to miss it. He really hoped that this would make her smile. It was easily one of the longest letters he had ever sent in his entire life, describing every single detail he could remember for her to read.

The past two months without her had been dreadful, but she had continually assured him she was safe, and that things were going well with her family. As long as she was in one piece by the time he picked her up, he could manage.

Ami stared down the dark street, blood freezing in her veins as she saw the creature in front of her. The head of a dog on the body of an eight-foot tall man, the thing ahead of her wearing a traditional men's kimono, a sword much like Ami's, and an incredibly wicked smile.

An Inugami.

This likely meant two things, neither of which was appealing.

The first; A faction had sent their Inugami on a mission to kill someone, or multiple people in a violent manner. The demons were known to eat their victims after torturing them.

The second; this demon had rebelled against its masters, and had escaped to go on a killing spree.

The blonde got into a defensive stance; hand on the hilt of her sword, ready to fight. Saying the words that she had been taught to say by her father. "Inugami! You are out after the permitted hours. State your purpose or I will be forced to kill you." Seeing the blood on the creature's clothes she became more weary about fighting the thing, even though she had to. That was too much blood on it for whoever or whatever it was from to have survived.

"I am freeing myself girl, I've slayed my master." Unsheathing its sword and running towards her—growling at her when their swords clashed together "I was unable to finish the meal I made of my master before his family came, I think I will quench my hunger with you."

Ami quickly maneuvered herself so the demon's sword flew out of its hand, the woman jumping backwards and grabbing a kunai from her holster and launching it at the demon—aiming for its chest and cursing when it dodged. Landing on her feet about ten yards away from the thing she grabbed another kunai, the woman attaching a fire seal to destroy the demon to the handheld weapon.

The demon launched itself towards her, biting down on her forearm while she was distracted with her sealing tools. Her blood dripping down onto the demons tongue and out of the corners of its mouth, staining its fur as it began to pull, an ominous crack sounding out as her arm was detached from her shoulder's socket.

The blonde woman screamed in pain as her arm was dislocated, swinging her free arm back and stabbing the demon in the eye with the kunai. Ami forced her chakra through the weapon—sending a large wave of chakra throughout the entire demon. Jumping away quickly when it yelped and released her arm, the blonde woman tried to move her arm, barely able to focus through the pain from the bite and her shoulder. She popped her arm back in place, tearing up from the pain as another crack sounded out. Doing her best to focus on the demon once more as it charged at her screeching, Ami closed her eyes and made several hand seals before feeling a surge of heat as the demon burst into flames and stopped dead in its tracks.

Watching the pyre of flames grow taller and taller, Ami stared in a bit of wonder at how far she had come in just two months. When she first started her rotations of protecting her village at night she could barely walk after fighting a demon, she almost always used all of her chakra. She used to be hesitant to set the things on fire, just on her own general principle of not wanting to hurt things unless they were a direct threat to Gaara or her family but now…

She liked watching them burn. To be able to kill them. After hearing she had failed repeatedly day after day by her superiors for the past two months it was nice to be able to do something right.

To know she was good at something.

Marveling in this realization Ami had forgotten all about her bleeding arm, not remembering a thing about it until one of her fellow ex-keepers broke her from her reverie and asked her if she was alright. Ami shook her head, still not speaking. Allowing herself to be dragged to her older brother Jirou's home, all ex-keepers knowing that going to the hospital was useless, that the doctors would take hours to keep them.

Ami apologized instinctively for the intrusion, forcing herself to focus on the situation at hand as her brother ranted at her for being more careful. Watching her fellow ex-keeper leave the home she looked down at the platinum blonde man as he fixed her arm.

She felt extremely blessed to have him as a brother, and couldn't have been happier about the woman he had chosen to be his wife.

Thinking about all of her family now as she leaned back on the couch, wincing in pain as he cleaned the wounds that the Inugami had made. Her oldest two siblings Aiko and Takehito couldn't have been more different. Even before Aiko had changed after her charge's death she had been sweet and kind, while Takehito was calculating and manipulative, all in the name of what he called "Protecting the faction and clan."

Then there was Jirou, her brother who was treating her arm, and her other brother Sabarou. Ami remembered how when they were little they both would help her train to become a keeper. Jirou would put a rock in the sand and declare that was her charge, and then she would get in place to defend it. They would attack her the best they could, although since they were all extremely young what it mostly fell to where half hearted punches and slaps that morphed into extreme fits of giggles from all involved parties.

The sibling closest to her age was her younger twin brother Daisuke, the host of a Mizuchi, a water demon that was strong but not nearly as strong as the tailed beasts. The clan had long since realized that they were catching too many demons to simply store in the temple and had declared about one hundred years ago that every twenty fifth child born was to be the host of a demon. Ami was the twenty fourth, Daisuke the twenty fifth. She loved her twin brother, she truly did, but Ami could not for the life of her understand how his keeper Kagura kept up with him. The man was headstrong, stubborn, liked to fight, and rushed into things without thinking about them at all.

She was surprised he hadn't gotten himself killed yet, but supposed that mostly had to do with his keeper.

Etsuko was a keeper herself, to a girl who hosted a small demon in Iwa. The last time Ami had seen that particular younger sister was when they fought in the war side by side and she had to admit she was proud of the advancement her sister had made in her jutsu, and her personality. Ami kept in close touch with the now nineteen year old, and truly did think of her as a close friend.

The next youngest two were Haruki and Haruko, two of her younger siblings who Ami had gotten to spend a great deal of time with since she had been drafted back home. Haruko was a very outspoken chuunin who had a habit of speaking his mind even if it got him in trouble, and was never afraid to express his disappointment of the upper echelons of their clan. Haruko was a jonin who had only just joined the counsel that helped run the clan the day before. The two girls often trained together when Ami had time to spare and wasn't too tired. The younger wanted to become the Kage of the village one day and Ami had complete faith that she could achieve that greatness.

Then there was Miu, who Ami was one hundred percent sure could have been a wonderful keeper if she herself was not a host of a demon. The girl was very talented for her seventeen years, she could complete control the Tengu she housed and often used this during fights as an advantage against her opponent. It was something Ami had been trying to teach Gaara before he had gotten kidnapped, and she had a great deal of respect for Miu and her keeper Naoko. The training to get to that point was intensive, painful, and frustrating. To achieve that was a huge accomplishment for any keeper and charge, and she had to admit that deep down she was a bit envious that she wasn't able to get Gaara to that point.

Ami's youngest brothers were a set of triplets, Yuki, Souta, and Noburu. Yuki lived in Yume—a small village that she was fairly sure was on the fringe of the nation Konaha resided in, but she couldn't recall off the top of her head. He was the oldest out of the sixteen-year-old triplets, and while Ami was not close to him like she was to the others she was still extremely proud of him and all that he had done. Souta was… a strange case. The boy had so much potential bursting out of him from almost every pore it seemed, but when it came to applying himself he didn't seem to care. Not even trying to go above his chuunin status. Noburu was the youngest, and it was the same as it was with Souta, he was extremely talented but he did not apply himself; holding back so he wouldn't exceed his older brother and best friend.

Midori was a special case, the only civilian in the entire faction. The fifteen year old girl had declared when she was three that she did not want to be involved with any of the "fighting nonsense" the rest of her family was involved in, and passionately announced that she was going to open a flower shop one day. Now she worked at one in the civilian section of the village, living in a small apartment above it.

Nanami and Ran were the two youngest girls, fourteen-year-old twins. Nanami was the keeper of a host who actually lived on the other side of the compound, so she still was able to come over quite frequently to visit her family. Ami had immense respect for her younger sister, the girl was a wonderful keeper and they got along very well in their parents home. The blonde had realized however that her younger sister was ashamed of her, something that was growing more and more apparent as time marched on. She couldn't blame her despite how much it hurt, Ami could remember the letter she got from her family detailing what had happened when Aiko's charge had died. She had felt a tinge of shame that her older sister had failed her job, quickly followed by a wave of guilt.

The very youngest was Ran, a genin who didn't know what the hell she wanted to be yet. Often times when Ami came home in the early mornings she would find Ran already up, waiting patiently for the other to come home so she could speak to her for advice.

All in all Ami loved her siblings, even the ones who were jerks, even the ones that were ashamed of her.

They were family.

Rubbing her temples as another wave of homesickness crashed upon her. All of this thinking about her siblings only reminded her of her family she had left. She wasn't related to Kankuro and Temari, but she had spent more time with them than she had with any of her actual siblings and they had simply turned into a brother and sister to her. She came to Temari for advice about almost anything, and Kankuro had developed a habit of figuring out when she was in a poor mood and trying his best to take her mind off things.

Then there was Gaara. If she were a romantic then she would call him her soul mate, he quite possibly could be. All she knew was that she loved him, she wanted to protect him, and she was fairly sure she wanted to marry him one day.

Ami left her brother's house, thanking him once more for healing her arm and making a mental note to take him and his wife out to dinner sometime to thank them for letting her intrude so often. She came home early that night at midnight, three letters on the table for her, from Suna. Smiling she reached and opened up the one from Gaara—shocked at how long it was, topping off at eleven and a half pages in his small handwriting just describing to her the details of the annual Rain Festival that she had missed.

She knew her boyfriend, she knew how much he abhorred writing long letters and going on and on when he would rather let his actions speak louder than his words. He didn't say 'I love you' often, he didn't call her beautiful or pretty or anything like that every day, he was horrible with emotions and letting her in. She could tell he loved her though. It was the little things like how he looked at her, how he would mouth the words 'I love you' before trying to say them to her out loud, how he wouldn't admit it but she knew for a fact that he liked cuddling with her and that was why he kept dragging her into his bed with his damn sand.

Feeling tears roll down her face she set the letter on the table and tried to calm herself as wave after wave of missing everything she had left behind crashed down on her.

Four more months.


	17. Bad Handwriting

Month Three

July

Gaara stared at the letter in his hands, frowning intently as he analyzed it.

This wasn't Ami's handwriting.

Ami's handwriting was like art to him, beautiful and flowing, like an expert's calligraphy. Hell, she even did calligraphy when she wanted to relax. This writing though, this writing was mismatched and disproportionate. Some characters were much larger than some, others were made in what was probably the wrong stroke order…

Her voice though, her voice came through the letter. The words in this were definitely hers. Had she dictated the letter for someone else to write for her? Had something happened to her? Finding himself grow more and more worried as he stared at the letter, Gaara finally decided to do something.

Writing a note to Kankuro and Temari to tell them where he went, Gaara disappeared in a whirlwind of sand—transporting himself to Ami's village. Ending up in the outlying forest he focused his mind to finding Ami's chakra—he began to walk through the woods, intent on finding out what was wrong with his love.

Ami sat down on a log, sipping on the water that was in her canteen. Her arm was still hurting a great deal from what the Inugami had done to her, she had written her letters to the Sand Siblings with her non-dominant arm—not bothering to explain what had happened. It wasn't that big of a deal really, her brother said it would heal.

Looking up as the moon rose in the night sky, she felt very much relieved that she had gotten only one shift that night. The woman wouldn't have to work till dawn for once, she could go to sleep early. Hearing a rustling in the bushes behind her as a strange but familiar sensation came upon her. It almost felt like Gaara's chakra.

It was Gaara's chakra.

The blonde shot up from where she was sitting, spinning around and staring in shock when she saw that indeed, her love was standing just a few meters behind her. "G-Gaara!?" dropping her canteen to the ground as she ran over and hugged him tightly—not caring about the throbbing pain in her right arm.

The redhead was shocked at the state of her, she looked so different now from when he had last saw her just three months ago. Her white sleeveless uniform shirt revealed her arms that were now covered in bruises, and scars from what he was fairly sure were from battling demons. Although if they weren't, he was heavily considering murdering anyone who had hurt her. "What happened to you?" looking at her in concern, realizing that her upper right arm was heavily bandaged. "They have you out on patrol when you're injured?"

Ami looked up at him, chuckling a bit softly. Of course that's what he jumped to. She couldn't exactly blame him; the woman had made a point to not go into details about how often she got hurt on patrol. "I got a bit roughed up by an Inugami. It's not a big deal." Pausing a bit before looking up at him in confusion as a realization crashed upon her, "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in Suna?" eyes widening and her smile turning into a frown as she pulled away—going back instinctively to the almost nagging tone she got whenever Gaara did something irresponsible "Do Temari and Kankuro even know that you left, oh my goodness Gaara how long have you been gone?"

"I've only been gone for a few minutes Ami. Calm down. I learned how to use my sand to take me even farther distances. I left a note for my siblings, it's alright." Unable to repress the smile that came to his face at her tone of voice, Gaara pulled her in for another hug. He would never admit it but he had missed holding her in his arms. He missed a lot of things. Using his thumb and index finger to play with her long blonde hair, "Please calm down. It's all right. I was worried about you and I needed to visit."

Looking down at her he was worried, the more he looked at her the more concerned he became. She had bags and dark circles under her green eyes, her skin looked paler than it had when she was in Suna. Gaara stared down at her, feeling a mixed amount of emotions. This place was not good for her. That much he could tell, her letters over the past three months had been getting slowly less and less optimistic and more and more apathetic. He couldn't get a good answer from her about what was happening and causing this, but he'd be damned if he didn't find out.

The blonde sighed, old habits died hard. She was tired as hell, sore all over, her arm still hurt… but she still immediately went to scolding the man before like she always had. The time apart didn't matter at all. Ami wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders, holding him tightly. "You don't need to be worried about me, I'm alright. I would have told you if I was in trouble." Tilting her head up, she brushed their lips together gently—giggling when she felt him tense up at her touch.

Still the same Gaara, only comfortable with kisses and being hugged if they were in a place he felt secure. Ami wasn't surprised that the woods that surrounded a village he had never been to before was not considered a secure place to him.

Making a bench with his sand Gaara sat down, gently bringing her down with him until she was sitting sideways in his lap. The Kazekage didn't understand in the slightest why she was giggling so much, but he couldn't care in the slightest. He missed her laughter, he missed the way she would nuzzle into his neck, and he missed the way it felt to wrap his arms around her waist.

He missed everything.

The two talked until the sun was starting to peak over the forest, Gaara finding out that Ami had been trying since she got to the village to make an appointment with the Hanakage to try and get him to annul the contract that she and Gaara had signed, as well as trying to get an appointment with the head of her clan. Ami had been trying desperately, only to be cut down at every turn.

Gaara took a special note of this, if Ami wasn't able to get a hold of either the head of her clan or the Kage of her village, then he would try. The man reluctantly let her go when they realized the time, kissing her deeply and promising her after she wouldn't leave him alone about it to never do something so stupid as to leave his village without warning like that again.

Kissing her love once more on the cheek "I love you Gaara." Ami couldn't help but smile when he returned the sentiment before disappearing in a small twister of sand.

Ami stared at the spot in the forest for quite a while, wondering if what had just happened was a figment of her imagination due to lack of sleep, or if it had actually happened. Turning around she watched as the bench of sand he had made for them to sit on slowly crumbled away.

The woman broke off a piece of the bench before it turned back from stone into sand, holding the small chunk in her palm. "He really was here…" Marveling in this fact as she slowly walked back to her faction's section of the compound, Ami gently set the rock down on her bedside table before collapsing in bed.

Getting screamed at by Temari was not something Gaara particularly enjoyed, but he could honestly say that this was more than worth it. Staying quiet as he drafted a letter in his mind on what he would write to both the Hanakage and the leader of Ami's clan respectively, Gaara kept a stoic outwardly appearance, knowing that eventually Temari would get frustrated and leave him be. Gaara started the to her clan leader first, not looking up when Kankuro came into his office.

"Oi. Gaara." The brunette growled softly when his little brother refused to acknowledge him, banging his fist on the desk and raising his voice even louder to make him look at him. "OI! Gaara." Seeing the redhead look up at him in annoyance, Kankuro held his ground. It had been years since he was scared of his younger brother, those days were long gone. "You cannot leave like that again. I know you miss her, but that doesn't mean you can act so irresponsibly. You are too important to everyone in this village to run off. What if you had run out of chakra and fucked up? You could have ended up in the middle of the desert all by yourself! Then what would you have done? It's fucking July! You can protect yourself from the sand Gaara, but you can't protect yourself from the heat and dehydration. What the hell were you thinking anyways?"

Gaara stared at his brother in shock, he hadn't meant for them to get that upset. "I..." trying to put his emotions into words, "I'm sorry. Kankuro, I'm sorry. I read her letter and I could tell something was wrong; I needed to go and see her. And I'm glad I did—She looks awful Kankuro. Like she's getting sick, she's covered all over with new scars and bruises… I'm worried about what's going to happen, I need to get her out of there."

The man stared at his younger brother for a few moments, before finally sighing and sitting down on the desk. He wanted to be mad. He wanted to beat up the other man for making them both so worried.

He couldn't though.

So many years of his life had been spent thinking that Gaara was unable to love, unable to feel anything, that the fact he was so in love he was acting like this softened up Kankuro's want to beat the living hell out of him. Muttering under his breath about how insane this was before looking at his brother sympathetically. "Alright. Alright… just don't do it again Gaara. You, me and Temari will work together and get her back soon. Don't worry."

The redhead smiled very softly at his brother, thanking him quietly before going back to his letter.

He didn't know how much longer until Ami would come home, but it sure as hell wasn't going to be three more months.


	18. Shape Shifters

Ami sat in shock during the meeting of keepers. Covered in blood that wasn't hers, dried mud from being pushed to the ground, clean tracks of skin on her face where her tears had been falling continuously.

The noise around her was just a buzz—why did this have to happen? It was her last day on guard before her contract was officially annulled. The blonde didn't know what everyone else was saying, she could see the ex-keepers screaming at her older brother about what was happening, her father a revered ex-keeper who had been one of the few to actually get his charge to the point where a keeper wasn't needed, was trying to calm them down and the leader of the clan her grandmother sat calmly during all of this.

She had almost been the one that died tonight.

It was the closest she had ever come to death before, in all of her twenty-one years. In the war she had fought, in the many times she had been hurt trying to defend Gaara.

Instead it was one of her cousins who was dead.

_The blonde woman stared in shock at her love that was standing on the other end of the street. Why was he here? "Gaara? What the hell are you doing here?" sheathing her sword as she walked towards him, the reason she had come down this street was because she felt the chakra of a demon—but she couldn't see or hear any. _

_Smiling uncharacteristically wide compared to how he usually did, Gaara strode down the street with open arms. "I couldn't wait to see you! I missed you so much." Chuckling a bit before wrapping his arms around her waist tightly. _

_Ami stared up at the man who was holding her. Something seemed wrong. He wasn't wearing his gourd, his eyes were just a shade too compared to what they usually were, and the kanji on his forehead was black instead of red. Not to mention he was much too joyful, even on his happiest days Gaara didn't smile this much or speak like that. Pushing him away from her, or at least trying to. This wasn't Gaara. _

_There was no way this was Gaara._

_Looking up she watched as the thing that was holding her eyes turn completely black and its grin had turned into a wicked, hungry grin. _

_Pushing away and jumping backwards as far as she could, hand on the hilt of her sword. "You're not Gaara. You are definitely not Gaara—" Ami didn't know at all if she could fight this thing even if it attacked her, it looked too much like Gaara. Too much like her charge. Too much like her boyfriend and love. "You're not even human are you? I felt demon chakra coming from this street, it was you!"_

_The demon began to stride towards the woman, a hungry grin on its face. Even if this woman hadn't fallen for its disguise she didn't seem like she was going to fight. Turning around however when it heard soft steps come to the streets—another ex-keeper clad in white peering around the corner, a boy with black hair and blue eyes about the age of fourteen confused as to what was going on. "Ami? Is everything okay?" _

_Ami shook her head quickly as her younger cousin Kenji began to walk towards them on the street. His charge had died the month before and he had just moved back to the village recently and started going on patrol at night. "Kenji get away, this thing is a demon!" the woman watched in silent horror as the thing changed it's appearance from Gaara to a boy about Kenji's age with brown hair and black eyes. _

_The boy's dead charge. _

_It was like it all happened in slow motion, Kenji dropping his sword to the ground and walking towards the thing in shock—drawn to it. All he had been hearing since he had joined the patrol of ex-keepers was that he had failed. That it was his fault for his charge dying. That he was a murder. Part of his mind knew that this thing really wasn't his dead charge and best friend, but the other part was so full of joy to see him alive and well once more. It was all he had been praying for since that day. _

_He couldn't hear Ami screaming for him to stop going towards the demon, when she tried to restrain him the boy knocked her down with a restraining jutsu._

_Unable to move, bound by thin ropes of chakra Ami watched in horror as her cousin embraced the demon much like she did. It took only a few seconds for the thing to grow horribly sharp and razor like teeth and then bite into Kenji's neck and ripping out his jugular vain. _

_The blonde felt horribly and completely useless as she watched the demon eat the boy, screaming for help at the top of her lungs. Blood spraying everywhere, help not coming until half of her cousin had been devoured, Ami watched as the demon disappeared into the night as soon as a group of ex-keepers rounded the corner. _

Ami stood up in the middle of the meeting, feeling the bile snake its way up her throat once more as she ran out of the room to vomit. Leaning over the railing of the patio and gasping for air in between gags as she vomited, Ami collapsed to the floor and held her face in her hands as she sobbed.

She just wanted to go home.

Temari smiled at her brothers and her boyfriend Shikamaru as she stood at the front gates of their home village Suna. She was going just a few days ahead of them to make sure everything was set up for their arrival. Saying goodbye to her brothers before headed off, actually quite a bit excited to see Ami again. The younger woman had become like family to her, and she had to admit she admired Ami's tenacity when it came to protecting Gaara. She missed her friend and couldn't wait to tell her about all she had happened in the village while she was away.

The twenty four year old was a bit concerned though, Gaara had described how Ami had looked and acted—from what he had said the girl had changed a bit in the few months. Thinking back to her letters that had been so optimistic and joking and were slowly turning more and more apathetic and tired.

She'd be lying if she wasn't concerned, but still had a feeling that once they got Ami back to Suna everything would go back to normal.

A few days later, Temari walked through the gates of the small village, incredibly glad to get out of the woods that surrounded it. There was a strange chakra that emanated from the woods that she could not place. She had to admit she was surprised at how bright and colorful the village was despite its name of being hidden in the shadows. The houses and buildings towards the front near the gates were all brightly colored; the people walking around seemed happy and boisterous.

It wasn't what she expected to say the least.

Walking through the village, a bit shocked at how friendly everyone was. Some people noticed her glancing at the letter in her hand from Ami that said how to get to the Minamoto compound and asked the Suna woman if she needed help getting to where she was headed. She didn't really need to ask for any sort of directions, from what Ami had told her the section of the village that was sectioned off for the clan took up a little more than half of the entire village.

At first she had been shocked at the factoid, but as she thought about it, the more sense it made. She had seen the figures when Gaara was researching the village for their treaty. Seventy percent of the village was from the clan and almost all of them lived on the compound.

Temari spotted the temple and shrine in the back of the compound before she was able to see the gates of the compound itself, the woman staring in shock at how tall the building actually was for a few moments. She had just passed the large Hanakage's building and the temple was easily three times taller.

As she walked through the compounds gates, looking at the tiny and rudimentary map Ami had drawn to figure out where Ami's faction lived on the compound. All the buildings had white exterior walls except for the completely onyx temple with gold accents. Looking closer she realized that on the door of each white building, what she assumed to be faction names were written in beautiful calligraphy Temari then realized that each factions building had a different colored roof.

Finally finding the Senju's section of the extremely large compound, she stared at it for a moment. The main building was a extremely large and long one story building with a garnet red roof that seemed to glow in the sunlight. Scattered around it were smaller, what she guessed to be, one room buildings with matching white exteriors and the garnet red roofs.

The woman adjusted the large iron fan on her back before knocking on the door of the faction's main building. She smiled politely when a taller older man with long blonde hair and brown eyes opened the door. "Hello there sir—I'm Subaku no Temari from Suna."

"Of course! It's nice to finally meet you Temari! My name is Akio—I'm Ami's father." Grinning wide as he shook her hand and led her inside, "It's wonderful to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you all from Ami's letters that it's great to meet you! Ami is in her room I think, she and Haruko spent quite a bit of time training today so she's probably resting. "

Temari looked around a bit curiously, the large building seemed to be where the kitchen and dining room were located, along with a large living area. Giving a small wave to the group of five playing cards at the kitchen table as Ami's father introduced her. "Hello everyone. It's nice to meet you."

The older man grinned, pointing to a pair of twin boys with brown hair and hazel eyes "Those two are Souta and Noburu—they're our youngest boys in the faction," motioning to a girl with curly blonde hair and light blue eyes, "That's Midori, she's our faction's flower expert." The young girl laughed and gave Temari a tiny wave before her father continued introducing, ruffling a ginger girl's hair as he used his free hand to motion to her twin "And then the last two are the babies of the faction! Nanami and Ran. These are the five youngest in our family, I'm always surprised at how much they've grown."

The Suna woman grinned, the family seemed nice so far—although she had only met a few of them. From what Ami had said before there were thirteen of her siblings still living on the compound, not including her. That left eight more people to meet. Following Akio as he led her to Ami's room, walking out of the main building to one of the smaller buildings that were scattered around the faction's section.

Ami hummed a soft tune as she worked on her calligraphy, writing out old phrases of wisdom, short stories she had been told as a child, just clearing her mind of all of the past few days. The funeral for her cousin Kenji had been just yesterday and she was finally starting to recover from the shock and horror of it all. Sensing chakra she hadn't felt since she left Suna, she looked up and out the window of her small room, seeing the familiar face of Temari.

The blonde woman burst out of her room and ran over to the other woman, hugging her tightly as she laughed. It had only been three and a half months since she had seen her, but it was the longest three and a half months of her life. "You're here! I missed you so much—" bouncing up and down a bit, grinning at the other before letting her go. "Let's get you settled in alright? You'll be staying in my room with me, we laid out another futon. And then Gaara and Kankuro are going to be staying in our guest room—" pointing over to another small building that was about the same size as Ami's.

Laughing as she hugged the younger woman, looking her over silently. She did look different, paler and almost sickly with a whole host of new scars and scratches. Temari was pleased enough with Ami's demeanor—she seemed happy enough. "That sounds great, I'm glad to see you again." Walking with her into the small building that was Ami's room, laughing softly when she noticed all of the calligraphy work that was scattered on the floor. "I see you've been going back to your calligraphy. How's that going?" she put her bag down on the floor next to the empty futon before sitting down, watching as Ami cleared everything up.

As Temari laid in her futon that night, trying to sleep she thought back to Gaara's words. There was something definitely off about Ami, the Suna kunoichi had definitely noticed that, but true to her nature Ami was not talking about anything that was troubling her.

Too tired to worry about it for much longer, Temari turned over onto her side and fell asleep. She had a good feeling that everything would be sorted out once Gaara and Kankuro came over.


	19. Tell Me What's Wrong

Gaara frowned as Kankuro dug through his pockets, both pausing at the gates of Ami's home village. The redhead couldn't remember why he allowed his brother to carry the map Ami had sent them, along with the written instructions on how to get to her clan's compound.

The brunette was notorious for losing things.

"You lost it didn't you Kankuro?" watching has his brother chuckled and nodded a bit sheepishly. "We'll find it. The compound takes up more than half of the village—it can't be hard to find." Leading Kankuro through the village, assuming that they were in the civilian's section. Ami had told them in her letter that the Minamoto compound was gated off and clearly marked. They hadn't seen anything like that so far.

As the two brother's passed a small training grounds, both looked down and observed its only inhabitant—a man about Gaara's age with blonde hair and the Minamoto crest tattooed on his right bicep. The blonde was training vigorously, almost as if he was trying to vent some sort of anger by doing so.

The blonde looked up at the two before smirking, wanting to pick a fight. "Either of you wanna spar?" seeing Kankuro's eye's spark with interest the man continued to goad the man, aiming his insults at Kankuro until the puppeteer took off his bag and handed it to Gaara before stepping into the training ring.

The Kazekage sighed, not even bothering to try and stop his brother. Kankuro was a wonderful man, and he was proud to call him his brother, but he still had not outgrown his temper. "Kankuro, remember this is a friendly sparring match." Crossing his arms, Gaara watched with a bit of annoyance. He just wanted to see Ami again and they were being held up.

"The name's Minamoto Daisuke! Just wanted you to know the name of the man that's going to kick your ass." Running towards Kankuro, Daisuke began to make hand signs as Kankuro's puppet crow released its blades. The two about to make first contact in the fight until a familiar blonde blur got in between them.

Ami had a heavy scowl on her face, using one hand to hold Daisuke's wrist in an odd painful angle and the other to hold a kunai to Crow's blade, effectively blocking both of their attacks. The brunette man stared in shock before making his puppet retract its blades, stepping back when Ami looked at him with a mix of annoyance, a little anger and what almost seemed amusement on her face. "Kankuro! What the hell are you doing?"

The puppeteer looked up at his little brother, seeing Gaara looking down in what was clearly amusement at the scene, their sister Temari standing now by his side. "I was beating up a brat—what the hell are you doing?" making a face at Daisuke when the blonde man loudly proclaimed that he was not a brat.

"I'm keeping you from beating up my bratty little brother." Letting go of Daisuke's wrist before looking at him and speaking to him in the nagging tone she used on Gaara whenever he did something she deemed unsafe. "Daisuke— you've got to stop challenging random people to fights! And stop sneaking away from Kagura—she's your keeper and she's worried sick about you." Changing her language to the village's dialect, going on and on until the other Minamoto groaned and held up his hands just to get her to stop talking.

Daisuke pointed to Kankuro, "We are getting a rematch later puppet boy—" rolling his eyes when his sister chided him to use the other man's name. "Fine, Kankuro—" walking off in a huff to wherever his own Keeper was, the blonde man left the group.

The redhead strode into the training grounds, glad to see his love again. She seemed a bit better than the last time he had seen her, or at the very least she wasn't as tired. "So which brother of yours did we just meet?"

"He's my twin, think he's like fifteen minutes younger than me. I'd have to ask Mom for the exact time." Shrugging before grinning at Kankuro and Gaara, "It's good to see you both again. Can't believe I get to go home in just a few days. I'm really excited." Motioning for them all to follow her to the Minamoto compound, Ami talking and laughing with Kankuro and Temari the whole way there.

Gaara stayed silent as usual, walking to Ami's side and quietly taking her hand. The man wasn't good with public displays of affection, or really much affection in general, but this much he could handle.

Ami led them through the compound, showing Gaara and Kankuro to the small room where they were staying. She really wanted nothing more than to spend some alone time with Gaara, but she didn't know how or where they would be able to do that. Hopefully they would be able to do that tonight.

Dinner with her family was hectic— her mother was staying late at a meeting with the other faction leaders along with the leader of the clan, leaving Ami's father Akio in charge of dinner. Almost all of Ami's siblings were in attendance, except for Takehito who had made up some excuse to come—not wanting to confront the man he tricked, and two of Ami's younger siblings who had moved out of the village to be keepers.

The redhead had to admit, Ami's family was loud, boisterous, and some of them seemed to be quite obnoxious. All of them though, treated him and his siblings kindly, one of her younger sisters Haruko kept asking him about his job as the Kazekage—saying passionately that she was aiming to become the next Hanakage when the current one retired.

Soon enough dinner was over, when Gaara attempted to help and clear the table Ami's father took the plates away from the Kazekage and grinned at him "Don't worry about it! Why don't you and Ami go and spend some time together? I'm sure you want to spend time together, we heard how you came over last week just to see her!" chuckling a bit as Ami stood up and motioned for Gaara to follow her. "Just stay safe you two, alright?"

The blonde woman led Gaara out of the faction's main building, smiling at him as they got outside. She took his hand—the moon rising over the forest that surrounded the village. "I'd like to show you around everywhere, but at night it's really only safe to walk around the compound. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind, just show me around the compound then." He honestly couldn't care less where they went, as long as he got to see her. Letting her drag him around almost, Gaara listened in amusement as she told him all about each building—still keeping a mindful eye on her. She still seemed a bit happier than the last time he saw her, but only slightly so. The man stopped near a small pond, keeping a firm hold of her hand. "What's wrong Ami?" he paused a bit—knowing that Ami wouldn't lie to him, but there was a chance that she would gloss over things. "Tell me everything that is wrong, Ami. Please."

Stopping, Ami turned around and looked at Gaara. How could he tell that something was wrong? Opening her mouth to speak only to find no words, she knew she couldn't lie to him. She had never lied to him before. Ami's first instinct was to say that she didn't want to talk about it, but she knew full well that look on Gaara's face. It was the look of pure determination, one he got whenever he was willing to do anything to get what he wanted.

She hated it when he looked at her like that.

Absolutely abhorred it.

"I don't… I don't know how I put it in words Gaara…" groaning softly when he told her to try. She was quiet for a few minutes, looking down at the reflection of the moon in the pond. "It's… It's a lot of things. It's the fact that my brother tricked me into coming here… it's the fact that I was away from all of you and Suna… it's the fact that I keep getting reminded of how I failed as a keeper—fuck I watched my cousin get eaten last week and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it…" running a hand through her hair, "I'm sore and tired all the time, my arm still isn't back to normal after that Inugami bit me, which makes sense because the hospital makes Ex-keepers wait hours do I've just been going to my brother Jirou and having him heal me… dammit I just want to go home. It was nice to see my family but I feel like shit and I just want to go home."

Gaara stared in shock at the woman before him, she hadn't spoken about any of those things in her letters. Seeing her eyes begin to well up as she rubbed her temples and tried to calm down, Gaara panicked internally. He was awful with his own emotions, and was even more awful with helping other people and their emotions. The man wanted to help her though, somehow. He loved her; he wanted to protect her from anything and everything. The redhead pulled her into a tight hug, rocking back and forth a bit as he rubbed circles in her back. "It's… it's okay now. You'll be going home in just a few days." Feeling her hug him back, "Please don't cry. I don't know how I'll help if you start crying…"

She couldn't help it, starting to laugh a bit at his words she wiped her eyes. Gaara was awful with emotions, "Don't worry, don't worry I won't cry." Kissing him gently on the lips before smiling at him. "I love you Gaara."

Freezing a bit, silently mouthing and practicing the words before he spoke quietly, "I love you too Ami." Gaara held her close once more.

Everything would be alright.


	20. My Daughter

Gaara woke up incredibly early the next morning, getting dressed before walking out of the small room he and Kankuro inhabited before going to the main building. Seeing that Ami's father Akio was all by himself he let out a sigh of relief. This was going to make things much easier. "Sir, I need to speak with you—"

The blonde man turned around, he had been making a pot of coffee when the redhead walked in. He gave an understanding smile, "If you're here to ask for Ami's hand in marriage, I can't give it to you." Seeing Gaara's look of shock the man laughed as he poured his daughter's boyfriend a cup of coffee. "My wife is the head of the faction, she's the one you need to ask."

Taking the cup of coffee, keeping the frown he wanted to make to himself. He hadn't met Ami's mother yet—all he knew was that she led the faction, was from Konoha, and she sent him and his siblings gifts for their birthdays and major Suna holidays. She seemed nice enough in the notes she sent along with the gifts, but he had never actually spoken or exchanged letters with the woman. "Alright then—when can I meet her?"

As if on cue, a woman that looked to be about forty strode into the kitchen—head held high as confidence seemed to seep out of her. Noticing the redhead she took a small pause before smiling wide, the light brown haired woman held out her hand. "You must be Gaara! I've heard so much wonderful things about you, it's nice to see you finally! My name is Michiko."

Gaara shook her hand, realizing in the back of his mind that Ami and her mother had the same eyes. "It's nice to meet you too Ma'am. I need to speak to you about something." A bit surprised at the knowing look in her eyes, was he really that predictable?

The woman poured herself a cup of coffee before motioning for the other to follow her, "Follow me Gaara. Let's have a talk." Michiko giving off an air of confidence and poise as she led him out of the faction's main building, waving to several other family members who were up with the sun as well as they walked. She walked into a small building near the gigantic onyx temple in the middle of the compound, motioning for the Kazekage to follow her as she led him to a traditional room. The older woman stood in the middle room, smiling at him. "This is where we decide which of our children become keepers, and who they go to. We decide based on their chakra types, personality, and fighting style. Each applicant charge is matched up with about twenty potential keepers before we narrow it down to one. The chances of you meeting my daughter were roughly five percent. Did you know that?"

Looking around the room, Gaara realized that it was a meeting room. A small raised platform at the front of the room, with small square floor cushions, each a different color like the roofs of the faction's homes. He listened to her speak, staying quiet—he knew the woman had a point to what she was saying but couldn't tell what it was at the moment.

"I remember when it was decided that she was going to be your keeper." Smiling wistfully as she spoke about the past, Michiko continued, "She was so excited—but she couldn't read yet. So when we got your file I stayed up the entire night reading it to her." Looking at Gaara with a critical look in her eyes. "My daughter was matched to you because they thought you two would be compatible as keeper and charge. It wasn't the best match, Shukaku got out more times than desirable, but I do think she is happier living in Suna than she could ever be in this village. But we matched you together for her to protect you, not to be your wife. So tell me why you want to marry my daughter."

Gaara stared at the woman—trying his best to find words to answer her. "I… I love Ami." Swearing to himself on the inside when she told him that wasn't a good enough answer he dug deep within himself to come up with another way to say what he meant. "I—she—Ami accepts me. She doesn't care that I'm not a romantic person, she doesn't care that I don't know how to speak about emotions. Ami has seen me at my worst—when I was a monster as a person and she still loves me. She's protected me when I treated her like dirt and she still does it to this day. I love her. I want to be with her." Realizing that he wasn't making a very good case regarding his personality Gaara let out a soft groan. "She makes me feel happy and safe, which is something that I don't feel very often. She treats me like I'm an equal, which doesn't happen much either…"

The woman chuckled softly to herself—seeing that the other man was struggling to find words to continue she raised a hand up to silence him. "All right, all right. That's good to know." Michiko looked Gaara over, giving him a soft smile. "I will give you my answer before you leave in two days. I want to see how you and my daughter are together." Head held high as she walked out of the room, leaving Gaara to stand alone in surprise and shock.

He had been expecting a 'yes' or a 'no', but he had definitely not been expecting an 'I'll tell you later'. As he watched the brunette walk out of the room he sighed and ran a hand through his scarlet hair.

Gaara was getting the creeping suspicion that these next few days to come were going to be stressful.


	21. I Will Protect You

Ami hummed a soft tune as she walked into the faction's main building, Temari and Kankuro following her in as the two spoke rapidly in the Suna dialect about what they were going to do when they got home. A bit surprised when she noticed that none of her family was inside— even on the nicest of days there were usually a few of her siblings who stayed inside. Poking her head outside the door she noticed what seemed like most of the clan staring at a middle aged bald man in monk garments. Her green eyes squinting—trying to remember where she had seen that man before, Ami let out an audible gasp of surprise when she remembered.

_The blonde four year old climbed on top of her mother's lap, shoving her twin a bit to the side so she would have room. Ami grinned up at her mother, putting a book of folklore in the woman's hands. "Read the story about Hachiman mama! Please?"_

_Michiko chuckled softly, she had just found out that she was pregnant with her tenth child; the twins wouldn't be able to fit on her lap for much longer. "Alright, Alright Ami. Calm yourself darling." Kissing her little girls head gently before opening the book, revealing a traditional style drawing of a middle aged bald man dressed as a monk. The brunette mother told both children the story of their clan's protector. Hachiman was one of the first children of the clan and one of the first keepers. The man had died a noble death, defending the entire clan from a powerful demon. "They say now that he comes before a possible disaster for the clan to warn us and protect us. It's why we have a statue in front of the temple of him and shrines in each faction home. We all need to be grateful for Hachiman, shouldn't we?"_

The protector looked over his clan, there was nothing he could do to protect him from what was about to come—but he could warn them so at the very least they had a chance of surviving. "There is a reason for the recent demon infestation that has been happening my children. The demons and monsters are tired of being captured and murdered. They blame you for all that has happened to them. So they have been coming rapidly to our home to try and wipe you out. You all have done wonderfully so far, keeping them from wiping us out. But now our real trial is beginning. In just a bit the strongest demons in the surrounding area will come at you at once. I know you can all survive this, I have complete faith in you." Giving a nod to the current leader of the clan. "Fight as hard as you can my children, I will be with you in spirit." Disappearing in a swirl of chakra the spirit left the compound as the members of the clan turned to their leader in fear.

There was a silence as all waited for the old woman to speak, clearing a path as she stepped to the center of the circle, "Listen to me. We will get through this and we will fight. The only ones who are exempt from fighting are those who are from other villages, anyone under fifteen, and civilians. Get ready."

Ami turned around to Kankuro and Temari, "Okay— there are safe places under the temple, if you go in there someone will lead you to them. They are inpenetrable by demons, you'll be safe there." Realizing that Gaara wasn't in the group she ran a hand through her hair "I'm going to find Gaara and bring him there." Seeing their trepidation at possibly leaving Gaara alone in what could be a horrible battle. "Please. Trust me when I say that I'll keep him safe."

The woman watched as they nodded before going to the temple, fear she had tried to hide rising up in her chest. This was going to be a hard fight. Doing her best to stay calm as she got her sword, her seals, and her hand weapons just in case; Ami thanked whatever guided the universe that he had his sand to protect him.

Gaara had been exploring the civilian side of the village after Ami's mother had told him that he would have to wait for her approval on marrying Ami.

If she was going to give her approval at all that is.

The man sat down on a park bench, eyes glancing over towards the direction of the clan's compound as he felt a massive surge of chakra. Was someone fighting? Shrugging a bit to himself, Gaara just wanted to spend a few moments alone to try and sort out all of his nervousness at all that was going on.

Looking up when a strange creature appeared on the roof before him, something with the body of a tiger, the legs of a spider, and the horribly deformed face of a human. Gaara stood up, immediately sensing some sort of dark chakra from the thing—readying himself to fight before he watched as it jumped off the roof and ran away.

"What in the world…" feeling more swellings of dark chakra appear from nowhere Gaara picked up his gourd from the ground and slung it over his back—getting ready to fight whatever came at him. The man used his sand to transport himself to the top of a nearby roof—looking down at the scene in shock.

It was mayhem.

Monsters were littering the streets, attacking passersby, some just slaughtering and others eating those they had defeated. Gaara's eyes widened as the small village was slowly being stained red with the blood of its people, the man about to go and help someone nearby who was fighting desperately for his life against the demon he had seen earlier, until he felt an upsurge of chakra swell up from just a few meters behind him. Whirling around on his feet he watched as a man dressed in the old fashioned clothes of a noble—his first instinct was to think the other was alive until he noticed the grey and mottled skin, the sunken and clouded eyes…

This thing was dead.

Speaking in the older manner of speech that the more elderly members of the counsel tended to use, the thing that Gaara was now assuming was a demon pulled out his sword and got into a fighting position. "My brothers and I are tired of being exterminated and collected like objects by this damned village. You will all pay a heavy penance for what you have done!" moving with shocking speed for his decrepit body the demon launched himself at Gaara—his sword meeting sand. Smirking as it jumped back several meters. "You've got a trace of the one tail's chakra… are you a host, boy?"

Gaara analyzed the situation—the thing in front of him seemed to be a demon. Thinking back to what Ami had mentioned before of the demons that surrounded her village it was most likely a Goryou, a vengeful ghost of a nobleman that had been martyred or killed in a coup d'état. He could probably beat this thing, his sand was on his side and he had fought much faster opponents before. "I used to be. Shukaku was extracted from me several years ago. Are you a Goryou?"

"I am! I am surprised you know that boy, Suna does not have the demon problem this village has." Launching himself at Gaara again, laughing when his attacks were deflected with ease. The demon had a look of almost sinister glee on his face, "This is going to be a wonderful fight! But we have to get your sand out of the way now don't we? Real men use swords boy." Letting out a large burst of chakra—forcing the energy through Gaara's sand and giggling in glee as the sand began to slowly crumble.

The redhead's eyes widened in shock—the only person who had been able to do that was Ami, and she had to use a special jutsu. He raised his hand to try and bring sand to attack the demon, feeling a sense of panic when it would not rise to his aid. Gaara watched as the demon launched himself at him once more, getting ready to dodge his attack until he heard the clang of sword meeting sword.

Blinking in surprise as he registered what happened, seeing his love standing in front of him, sword drawn, what looked like bite marks and scratches all over her body, and an extremely determined look on her face. "Ami… what are you doing here?"

Ami looked back at him with a smirk, maneuvering her sword and sending out a blast of chakra to send the demon flying backwards and almost off of the roof. She had gone searching for Gaara almost immediately after Hachiman had warned them about the demons that were attacking. She had already killed several demons as she searched for him, her chakra already down a good bit. "I am your ex-keeper, your current head body guard, and your girlfriend. Do you really think I'm not going to protect you?" getting into an offensive stance she directed her gaze at the demon before her. "I will not let you get past me. I will not let you harm this man. I will not let you go free after this fight."

The blonde launched herself at the demon—poised to kill.


	22. Too Much

Gaara watched in horror as Ami fought the demon—desperately trying to gain control of his sand somehow to help her, only to realize that he could control just a few grains at a time at the moment.

This was bad.

He needed to keep her safe, but he didn't know how. The man's taijutsu was horrible; he had no weapons on him, and all the ninjutsu he knew involved his sand.

The blonde woman did her best to try and inflict some sort of damage upon the demon, but the damned thing was just about the same speed as she was. Putting herself between the demon and Gaara once more, gritting her teeth and letting out a low growl of pain as her right shoulder popped out of place. Tears of pain welling up in the corner of her eyes as she used a jutsu to send the demon flying back from her and Gaara and off of the roof.

Watching as she popped her shoulder back in place and strode over to him quickly, "We can't leave—he'll just follow us to the compound." Making the hand signs for a shadow clone—several copies of Ami popping up and running towards the demon on the ground and attacking it. "I think he did the same thing I do when I block your sand—so I'm going to try and bring it back." Hearing the distinctive noise of her clones being destroyed, Ami gritted her teeth as she began to make more hand signs in rapid succession. Placing her hand on his chest right over his heart, Gaara felt a surge of chakra swell up within him—the sand shield coming up to defend them as the Goryou attacked them once more. "He shouldn't be able to take this away again unless he comes into direct contact with you." Ami paused as an idea came upon her, looking up at Gaara, speaking in the Suna dialect as they became encased in a globe of sand. "Gaara, do you think you'll be able to slow him down? I think I have an idea…"

Nodding slowly, wondering what in the world she was thinking. "I can do that…" wanting to hold her and beg her to stay safe, but allowing her out of the small globe of sand—launching his sand at the demon and trying to grab its feet or hands somehow. He wanted nothing more than to simply destroy the thing for putting his love in danger—he wanted to destroy anything that harmed Ami. Gaara finally managed to ensnare the demon in his sand— watching as Ami ran up to the damned thing and thrust her sword through it's stomach, the woman smirking as her blade pierced all the way through.

The Goryou looked down in disappointment, feeling the sand snake up his body and a slight pain where Ami's sword had pierced him all the way through. "Really girl? Did you really think this would kill me?" focusing its energy and chakra into the sword before channeling it into Ami's body.

Ami let out a gnarl at the pain—it quite literally felt if the blood within her was beginning to boil. The woman smirked as she heard the extremely familiar sound of Gaara's sand snapping bones. "I can't kill you. I figured that out as soon as I saw you. I don't have enough chakra for a full fight, I don't have enough energy to try and wear you down." Pulling a large paper seal that had the character for 'Sealing' on it and slapping it on the demons chest before jumping a few meters backwards towards Gaara—leaving her sword in the Goryou. "I can seal you however. And being under a human's control for the rest of time is something that I know demon's hate more than death."

Signing like mad as blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth—the demon's attack of forcing chakra into her body had been more effective than she would have liked to admit. Ami watched as a blue aura surrounded the demon—covering her eyes as the light turned blinding, a loud clang sounding out

The man moved his hand from over his eyes—he too had blocked the light that came from seemingly nowhere. His eyes widening when he saw that all that was left was Ami's sword, although the strange and dark chakra from the demon remained fresh. "Where did… where did it go?" looking over at Ami—watching her cup a hand to her mouth as she coughed violently, blood trickling out from in between her fingers. "Good god, what happened? Did he wound you with his sword?"

Shaking her head and wiping the blood off of her mouth, Ami collected herself. She could do this. She had been through worse before and come out of it fine. "I'll be alright—it's nothing too serious." Looking at him in exasperation when he pointed out that she was coughing up blood. "I'll be fine once I get to a healer, it's alright. Anyways, I sealed the demon in my sword—I'm not strong enough to kill it so I just sealed it away." Walking over and picking up the weapon, putting it in its sheath before looking at her love, doing her best to smile at him despite the state she was in. In her hurry to find him she had been a bit careless in fighting the demons on the way that had tried to fight her.

At least she had gotten there in time right?

Ami had nicks, scratches, and a few bite marks on her from where she hadn't been fast enough to dodge, but she really couldn't care less. This was about the same amount of damage she got on any given night the past few months in her home village.

She was used to it.

Her boyfriend wasn't though, he hated seeing her like this—especially since it happened because she was trying to protect him. Which she had done quite well honestly, there wasn't a scratch on him. "Why… Why do you keep doing this. You should have stayed somewhere where you would be safe Ami. I don't want you protecting me if it means you'll die."

The blonde woman chuckled softly, keeping down a cough as she looked at him, "Gaara, are you really asking me this? I've told you that before. Like five or six years ago when you just —remember? You asked me my ninja way or something like that—"

"_What do you live for Ami? What is your ninja way?" seeing the blonde look up at him curiously from her calligraphy, the new Kazekage sat down on the floor next to her. He had been thinking very deeply about what his own meaning of life was now that he was responsible for the whole village. _

_He had asked all of those close to him these same two questions to get some sort of bearing on what his should be now—but none of their answers had helped him in the slightest._

_Ami chuckled lightly as she brushed a strand of blonde hair behind her ear before trying to wipe off a black smudge of ink off of her cheek, giving up when she realized that she was only spreading it more. "Temari told me you'd probably be asking me. I thought you would know it since I've told it to you so many times. I live to protect you. My ninja way is to keep you safe. It's fairly simple Gaara." Dipping her pen in the ink, Ami began to work on her calligraphy once more._

_The fifteen year old man stared at her in confusion, surely that couldn't be her reason for living. Out of all of the answers he had heard so far this had to have been the most unsatisfactory. "There has to be something else you live for. What about your family and your friends?"_

"_What about them? Gaara as long as I can remember I have been trained to protect you. The skills I was taught were ones that would keep you safe. I left my family to be here in Suna with you. If my friends were in danger I would try and protect them yes, but I would make sure you were safe first. Protecting you is what I live for. It's all I've known and it is all I will ever know Gaara." Looking up at him with a small smile as she giggled at the look of pure shock on his face. "I will protect you until I die Gaara, or until you do not need me anymore. That was what I was born for. You are literally all I have ever known. Why would I let anyone hurt you?" _

_As he thought about what she said to him, watching her brush glide across the paper gracefully with a blank face, Gaara began to remember all that she had done for him. Each time he had been attacked by assassins she got in the way of their blows—Gaara was certain that most of her scars came from assassins meant for him. When they went on missions and other ninja tried to attack him, oftentimes she was in front of him to defend him faster than his sand was._

_She had always kept him safe._

_When he had treated her worse than dirt, when he wouldn't call her by her name, when he tried to maim her on a weekly basis._

_She had kept him safe._

Eyes widening, chest constricting around his heart as he remembered her words from so long ago, Gaara slowly walked towards her. "If you keep rushing in to protect me like this you're going to end up dead."

"I've said it before, I'll say it now, I was born to protect you, I will stay by your side and keep you safe whether you like it or not." Tapping the kanji on his forehead lightly with her pointer finger, smiling at him a bit. "So let it go. This is how things are. I love you and I'm keeping you safe." Grabbing the strap attached to his gourd and starting to try and drag him back to the temple on the compound. "Let's get out of here and to the temple. I promised Temari and Kankuro I would get you back as fast as possible."

Gaara looked at the woman who was doing her damn best to drag him—letting out a soft sigh before pulling gently on her arm and bringing her close to his chest. "I'm not going to 'Let it go' Ami, we are definitely speaking about this later." Using his sand to teleport them to front steps of the onyx temple, Gaara released his tight hold on Ami a bit reluctantly. He felt like every time he let her out of his arms she got harmed somehow.

Making sure Gaara was close behind her, Ami walked up to the gargantuan doors to the temple taking a small kunai and nicking her pointer finger— taking a look at it for a moment to make sure there was enough blood coming out before drawing the symbol for 'Open' on a small rectangle of gold where a door handle would be on a normal door.

She watched with a bit of disinterest as the door opened itself, looking back and chuckling once more at Gaara's confusion. "It's a special way to make sure only people who are in the clan or people who are invited come into the temple. You have to be a direct descendent of the Sage of Six Paths to open the door. Or at least that's what Dad says." Striding in once the doors were open wide enough, motioning for Gaara to follow her once more.

Looking around as he walked closely behind Ami—he was surprised at how detailed everything was. There were ornate murals on the wall depicting different events in the clan's history. From the creation of the different tailed demons, to what he was fairly sure a mural depicting Ami's grandmother becoming the leader. They passed by an open doorway that led to a room that seemed to be lined with thousands upon thousands of scrolls.

Ami noted his curiosity at everything, giving him a small smile "If I want I can give you a tour tomorrow! Right now we're headed to the safe rooms though, That's where Kankuro and Temari are…" leading him through a door towards the back of the temple, the two walking into a fairly large room filled with predominantly children, civilians, pregnant women, or people who were injured. The only people who didn't seem to fit the category were Temari and Kankuro—both looking extremely anxious at the fact Gaara or Ami hadn't returned yet. Whistling for their attention and shouting at them in the Suna dialect, Ami grinned at them and waved as she started to make her way back to them. "Sorry it took so long— a few things sort of held us up." Coughing up more blood into her hand she took a few moments to pause before sighing. "I'm going to go find a healer, I know they're around here somewhere. You three stay here." Walking off and leaving the siblings alone, Ami found her older brother Jirou to heal her.

Gaara sighed and took off his gourd, making a stool from his sand and sitting down, running a hand through his hair as he looked up at his siblings. "I cannot wait for us to get home. This trip has been… too much. Too, too much."


	23. Temples and Offerings

Ami felt like hell.

The day before had been long and tiring—beating that demon had taken up more chakra than she was willing to admit, even if she had used the chakra she had been saving up in her sword as a reservoir.

Now that was gone too. She couldn't use it anymore now that it housed a demon.

Yesterday was bad, but she hoped that today would be all right at the very least since it was the last in her village of birth before she finally went home. Running a hand through her pin straight blonde hair—Ami let out a noise of frustration. She and Gaara had gotten into the closest thing they had ever had to a fight last night—him panicked about her being hurt, and her trying to calm him down.

It had ended with Gaara almost yelling at her to stop nearly getting killed, and Ami walking off to the room she shared with Temari, speaking to herself in her village's native dialect.

It was bad.

She was sure they would get through it, she knew full and well Gaara's anger came from legitimate concern about her well being. Still though, she hated fighting. Stepping out of the shower and toweling off, Ami hummed a song softly as to not wake up Temari. Her roommate was still dead asleep, and she couldn't blame her. Yesterday had been long and tiring, the only reason Ami was rising up so early was to put an offering to her ancestors and pray for good luck as she traveled back to Suna.

Getting dressed in her civilian clothes, a pair of tan shorts and a green short sleeved blouse before putting on her typical sandals. There was no reason to look nice today. Or at least not any that Ami saw.

As she walked out of the room and into the small grassy area Ami immediately sensed an all too familiar chakra. Looking up to the roof of the main building of the faction, Ami gave a tired smile to her boyfriend. "Did you spend the night up there?"

Gaara snapped to attention, he had been thinking very intently on all that had happened all of yesterday, Ami's mother not giving him an answer on whether or not he could marry her daughter, him almost getting killed by a demon, Ami fighting off that demon, him and his love fighting. It was too much; the man hadn't slept a second. Giving a small smile to her as he stood up, letting his sand transport him down to the ground right in front of her. "I couldn't sleep. Why are you up so early? You were injured yesterday, you need your sleep."

"I need to give an offering for good luck and you need to do it either at sunrise or sunset. Figured I'd just get it over with…" yawning softly, "Do you want to come with me? I can show you around the temple like I said I would. But… let's get coffee first. I really need coffee holy shit—" Ami gently nudged him with her elbow when he chuckled at her last comment, walking into the main building with him. Fixing a pot of coffee— rubbed her eyes, trying to stay awake.

The redhead watched as his girlfriend did her best to stay awake, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards as he poured them both a cup of coffee, keeping his black without sugar and making hers the way she liked it. Four spoons of sugar and a dash of cream, he could never understand how she could drink it so sweet. Handing her the mug of coffee, Gaara watched as she slowly began to perk up with each sip of the hot liquid—drinking from his cup as well. The man wanted to bring up what they had fought about yesterday, but he was very much afraid of making her angry or her mother seeing them fighting and deciding that they wouldn't be a good married couple.

This was stressful.

Ami finished her cup of coffee, feeling much better now that she had her morning cup of coffee. Rinsing out her mug before giving her love a smile taking his empty mug from him and rinsing it out as well. "Let's get going alright?" taking his hand, the blonde intertwined their fingers together as she led him out the door and to the civilian section of the village. "I need to get some flowers, but I'm pretty sure the flower shop has a stand outside of the temple… or somewhere near it…" grinning when she saw the blue and green stand, a bit amused at how it was positively dwarfed by the massive temple. The blonde bought a bouquet full of bluebells, daffodils, pink roses, asters and irises, carrying the large thing into the temple as she lead Gaara in.

"That's a strange combination of flowers… is there any reason you bought those?" staring at the thing, he didn't know much of fauna besides his cacti—but he had a good feeling that was not a common combination of flowers.

The blonde adjusted her hold on the flowers as she walked to a gold, life size statue of a young woman at the eastern side of the temple, glancing towards Gaara at his question "Hmm? Oh! They all mean something special for an offering to my ancestors. Bluebells mean I'm grateful for their protection, asters mean I remember their sacrifice, daffodils are for the respect I have for them, irises mean I'm loyal to the clan, and pink roses mean that I trust them completely. Kind of an ugly combo, I'm pretty sure there are others out there but I don't feel like memorizing them since I don't have to come here often." Shrugging as she set the flowers at the statues feet, bowing low and saying the prayer her father had forced her to commit to memory so many years ago.

A bit confused as to whom she was praying to, Ami was not very religious—in all his years of knowing her she hadn't mentioned any sort of deity that she was faithful to. Finally noticing a nameplate that simply said the name "Aiko" on it, he realized that Ami was praying to the founder of her clan. The man wasn't sure what he should do—simply watching as she prayed. When she straightened up he watched as she stared at the statues for a few more seconds before she stepped away. "What did you pray for?"

"It's a prayer to be strong enough to protect my village, my charge, my family… and then luck for traveling, luck until I come here next… It doesn't translate well, but it's just a general prayer for good fortune I suppose." Shrugging before taking his hand once more, tugging on him gently as she pointed to another gold statue of a man on the western side of the temple. "That's Daisuke. He's the other founder of the clan along with Aiko." Showing him around the entire place, the murals that showed the story of her family, the room that had all of the artifacts that contained demons, all of the statues within the large place and telling him everything she knew. Ami walked with him through a traditional style garden behind the temple. "That's pretty much everything… did you see anything in the civilian part of the village you wanted to—" Feeling Gaara grab her wrist and pull her towards him and into a deep and sudden kiss, Ami's eyes widening. The man was not usually this forward with anything romantic. The blonde stared at him, a bit breathless after how deep that kiss was. "Or, you know, we could just do that instead. Totally fine with that—"

Gaara stared down at the woman in his arms, taking in everything about the woman in his arms, her bright green eyes, her golden hair, the faint dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose that were only truly visible when she stayed out in the sun for many days in a row, and a faint scar on her temple from when they were much younger and Kankuro's first puppet had misfired a blade and stuck her. He didn't say it much compared to what he was fairly sure was normal, but he truly did think she was beautiful. Swallowing his pride and taking a deep breath Gaara spoke very softly "I'm sorry for last night. Seeing you hurt frightens me. I lost my temper and that was wrong of me. Please forgive me Ami." Closing his dark rimmed eyes and swearing at himself internally, that was not nearly as eloquent as it seemed inside of his mind. No matter how hard he tried it seemed as if he still was not good at speaking without planning things extensively first. Feeling Ami press her lips gently against his once more for a few seconds, Gaara froze up in surprise.

The blonde smiled up at him, "It's alright. I know you just did it because you cared. I didn't help much either, I just walked away instead of trying to talk it out. We're both at fault. I think we're both stressed because it's been a really hard past few days, we both need a good nights rest, and being home will help both of us. We'll talk about what happened when we get to Suna, but let's just focus on making it through today alright?" pecking him on the cheek, giggling gently when she noticed his sand armor slowly falling off. "I love you, it's all okay, we'll be fine."


	24. One More Day

Ami walked hand in hand with Gaara through the compound, "We need to get going to the Hanakage's building don't we? It's going to be time to sign the treaty between our villages soon won't it?"

"We sign the treaty at noon, and I'm signing your new contract then as well. I plan on reading it thoroughly first this time, although the Hanakage has assured me that your brother Takehito did not write this one." There was a small pause as he tried to word his next sentence, "Why did your brother do what he did? I don't understand why he did that."

The blonde frowned at his question—Takehito was a strange case. She wanted to be close to her oldest brother, but his prejudices and his desire to be on top no matter what always came in between them. "My brother is horrible at taijutsu and ninjutsu—he's only got talent in genjutsu. The only reason he is a jonin is because he's cunning and can fool people. One of our great-uncles took him under his wing to be his student since no one else would take him." Ami stayed silent for a few moments as she tried to put together her next words gently, "When my grandmother and great-uncle were a little older than us, Suna had attacked our village because of a land dispute. About half of the population was decimated. Most everyone's gotten over it—my dad was a kid when it happened and he knows things have changed. My great-uncle though refuses to let it go at all, and his distrust of Suna rubbed off on Takehito. Grandma is over it now and she runs the clan, so when she found out what Takehito did he got yelled at for a few hours straight—Uncle Ichirou yelled at him for a long time too, he was afraid Takehito really fucked things up with our villages again."

Gaara sighed, he should have thought of that. He had known about Suna attacking her village so many years ago but it had never occurred to him that occurrence so long ago could be the reason to all of this. A bit comforted that at least her grandmother who was the leader of the clan did not hate his village, he blinked as he repeated what she last said once more in her mind. "Ichirou?" that name sounded familiar—he had heard it before but he couldn't remember where from.

"Yeah—my Uncle Ichirou is the Hanakage. I've told you that right?" seeing Gaara's wide eyes of shock she chuckled and squeezed his hand, "Sorry. My bad. He's my father's younger brother—I've got four aunts and three uncles. I kind of forget who I've spoken about and who I haven't. He's a nice enough guy, but he talks a lot, so you should probably get ready for that."

The man sighed a bit in exasperation, that would have been welcome information several weeks ago when he was first reaching out to the other Kage but there was nothing they could do about it now. "It's alright. You do have a big family." Walking into the Kage's building with her, keeping a firm but careful hold on her hand. Normally he wouldn't be comfortable holding her hand like this, but he had missed the little things like this so much that he no longer cared. Eyes darting around a bit before gently kissing her temple, making sure that no one was watching as he did so. A pink blush began to dust itself on his cheeks, the man scowling when his love began to giggle. "What's so funny?"

Ami couldn't hold it in, Gaara rarely blushed and when he did it was never this much. His cheeks were now a bright pink, and the man was doing his best to hide his embarrassment with a scowl, even if it was failing. "It's cute. You're being really cute right now—" her giggle turning into a full blown laugh as his scowl grew even more. "I'm sorry, do you not want me to call you cute? Because it's true."

"I am not cute—I am a twenty year old man. Please stop laughing at me Ami." Scowl growing more pronounced as his blush continued to grow—he took a deep breath to calm himself, his usual cool exterior soon enough returning to him before they walked into the Hanakage's office, Ami forcing herself to stop laughing as they entered the room.

The brown haired puppeteer sat down on the porch of the Senju faction's main building, taking apart his puppet Crow piece by piece, making sure it was completely functional for their trip back to Suna just in case something happened. Temari was sitting next to him, polishing her iron fan quietly—the dirty blonde just enjoying the peace of today after how hectic yesterday was. Looking up he noticed the familiar face of Ami's oldest brother Takehito—the tall man with shaggy brown hair striding through the compound as if he owned the place, loudly speaking ill to anyone who would listen about Gaara. "I cannot believe an idiot who doesn't even know how to read a damned contract became the ruler of his village—besides, have you seen his file? The man was nothing short of a homicidal maniac. People like that do not change."

Kankuro shot a glance at Temari—watching as the woman gritted her teeth and did her best to control her temper. He however, was not able to do that. Standing up he walked over to the other man, speaking in a growl "What the hell are you saying about my little brother? You don't even know him you jackass—"

"I know plenty about your brother. Every time he killed someone, every time he let his demon come out, every time he tried to kill someone, my sister reported it to me. I'm sorry that I don't think that just because someone becomes the leader of a village that excuses murder." Straightening himself up to his full height, easily dwarfing the Suna ninja by about ten centimeters. "That man is a monster, he will always be a monster."

The Suna man grabbed the other by the collar, not noticing as Gaara and Ami made their way onto the compound behind him. "My brother is a great man! He's more honorable than you'll ever be. Just because he housed a demon has no bearing on who he is you son of a bitch—"

Takehito slapped away the other man's hand, his voice turning into a snarl "I don't give a damn about his demon! I've got two younger siblings that are hosts to demons, I run a regimen of ninja who keep hosts of demons safe and in their place." Shouting now, staring dead into Kankuro's eyes, "I do not think that having a demon inside of you permits being a murder, he is a monster. Do you know how many people he's killed? Or did you never bother to keep track? He's killed forty-six civilians, twenty-two of his fellow ninja, he's attacked over one hundred people who would have died had my sister not been able to stop him, and he tried to kill Ami on a weekly basis! If she didn't have that talisman she would have died—why the fuck should I be happy that he's dating her? And I'm supposed to believe he had some sort of "Life changing moment" because of something some other twelve year old brat said?"

The redhead Kazekage stared in absolute shock as he listened to what Ami's older brother was shouting about him. He never knew the numbers before about the people he had killed when he was younger. Words were failing him—Gaara had tried so hard to move past that part of him, that he had done his best to force it from his memory. Speechless, all he could do was send his sand out to restrain Kankuro from attacking Ami's older brother. Even in his hurt he didn't want Takehito to be assaulted by Kankuro—remembering what Ami had said earlier about her older brother being horrible about fighting. "Kankuro—calm yourself." Watching as Ami stormed her way over to her older brother, slowly dragging his brother backwards and away from the other man with his sand, making sure that he wasn't hurting him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you Takehito? Why in the world would you say that—Gaara's changed!" getting up into his face the best she could despite the fact that her brother was a full head taller than her. "Is that why you made me come here? Because you don't like my boyfriend? What the fuck Takehito—" trying to decide if she should punch him or not, feeling a huge mix of emotions crashing upon her wave upon wave. "You—You—I don't even know what the hell to call you oh my god—" looking back and seeing the hurt and pain on her boyfriend's face, she felt an overwhelming anger come upon her. "You are wrong about him! He's changed! And if anyone's awful here then it's you! You took me away from a place where I was safe and happy, because you don't like my boyfriend! Then for the past three and a half months I've listened to you yell at me every single day and night telling me how much of a failure I am, how I am a disgrace on this village! You took me from my home because you tricked me and I've almost gotten eaten every night since then because of you! So stop acting like you're better than everyone else because you're not! You're nothing more than a stuck up, jackass, son of a bitch who put his little sister in danger of getting eaten alive and killed because you didn't like her boyfriend!"

The two soon reduced to screaming at each other in their native dialect—the only reason Ami was not about to punch her brother in the face like she had a few months prior was because Gaara was restraining her as well with his sand.

Michiko wiped her hands on a towel as she walked out of the Senju faction's main house, frowning as she saw two of her children screaming obscenities at each other. The woman walked down the steps, head held high and authoritatively, "Enough you two! Stop fighting right now." Pointing to Takehito, "Go to the faction meeting room, we are having a discussion about your attitude towards others young man." Pointing at Ami, "Calm down right now young lady, or I will have you praying in the temple all night for our faction to have good luck in the coming year." The older woman watched as Takehito stormed off without trying to argue with her, Ami immediately taking deep breathes to try and calm down. Michiko smiled at Gaara, "If you would let her and your brother go I would appreciate it Gaara. Everything is alright now." Mouthing the world thank you as his sand slowly slipped away from both Kankuro and Ami, Michiko turned on her heel and walked to the faction meeting room to give her oldest son a good talking to.

Ami spun around to see if Gaara was all right, but all she saw was him disappearing in a swirl of sand. Cursing loudly to herself when he left, she ran off to find him—glad that Kankuro had Temari to calm him down. The blonde tracked Gaara's chakra to the spot in the woods where they had met just a few weeks before when he came to surprise her. "There you are good lord—" walking over to him quickly, "Don't listen to my brother he's—"

"Right. He's right. I killed many people when I was younger, I tried to kill you, and what I am now does not excuse that. He has every right to dislike me." Looking at her, "Why do you love me after all of that—why doesn't everyone hate me after all of that—" jerking away when she tried to touch him, sand jutting up to defend him as if he was under attack.

The blonde held her hands up in a calming gesture, "Gaara—take some deep breathes alright?" putting her hand very gently against the sand barrier that he had built around himself. "You are a good man. You are a wonderful leader—you almost died saving your village because you love your people! I've told it to you before and I'll say it again, Gaara, what you were was awful. But. You. Have. Changed. You have changed for the better, and if I didn't think that, if I didn't truly think that, I would not be with you romantically or even consider you a friend." Feeling the wall around him literally begin to crumble into sand she continued. "My brother is a jack-ass, and that is his problem. He's going far now on wit and cunning but one day he's going to trick the wrong person and it's going to fuck him over. You are loving, kind, and you put others before yourself. That's something he doesn't do so please, don't listen to him and think you're a bad person because he is the last person in the world that should be speaking."

Gaara watched as the sand around him crumbled against his will, Ami's face becoming more and more visible as it all broke down. The woman didn't use anything to chip his sand away, just continuing to speak in a calming tone until all of it had retreated back into his gourd. She always did this—she always tore down any barrier he put around himself without even trying.

It worked though.

He felt so much calmer with her words, she knew him better than anyone. Years of her making sure he kept safe had gotten her to the point where she knew exactly what calmed him down and made him feel better. Gaara did his best to keep a stoic exterior as she walked over to him once all of the sand had gone, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and hugging him tightly. Breathing out and relaxing himself, Gaara uncrossed his arms and held his love as close to him as possible, comforting himself with her touch, her scent, her voice. Everything about her made him feel better, made him feel safe. The man spoke softly into her ear, as if he was whispering a deep secret to her. "I love you Ami."

One more day.


	25. Home

Gaara did not get a second of sleep.

The past few days had been absolute hell, in every single sense of the word. Despite Ami comforting him yesterday after what her brother had said to him, he was still very much reeling from his words. He was absolutely certain that Takehito had somehow convinced Ami's mother not to approve of them getting married—and he couldn't blame her if she didn't approve.

Sitting on the roof of the small one room building that he and Kankuro had been staying in, watching as the sky grew lighter and lighter, Gaara didn't notice Ami's mother walk out of the faction's main building and onto the back porch until she whistled loudly, "Gaara! Come off the roof and help me make breakfast—we should talk." The woman put her light brown hair into a high ponytail before chuckling at the shocked face he made, "It's going to be a good talk, come down."

There was a small pause before he used his sand to teleport off of the roof, ending up next to the older woman on the porch. "Yes ma'am. What do you need me to do?" following her inside he nodded as she told him to start a pot of coffee and start making rolled omelets. Looking up at the wall in front of the stove, Gaara was shocked to see a photo of himself, Kankuro and Temari right after he had become Kazekage, hanging up there along with countless other photos of Ami's siblings and what he took to be more distant family members. Gaara looked at Michiko in an incredible amount of confusion, "Why are we… on the wall? My siblings and I?"

"Hmm?" the green eyed woman peered at the picture he was speaking about before chuckling as she made rice and miso soup for her children's breakfast. "Oh! That's where we put pictures of family. You haven't thought about it have you? Your siblings and you have spent more time with Ami than any of us have. She left the village when she was seven to move to Suna, where she's been for fourteen years. All three of you know her and have influenced her more than any of us have. That makes you her family, which makes you our family as well. Why do you think Akio and I send you all gifts on holidays and your birthdays?"

Gaara stared at the woman in shock, he had never thought about it like that at all. He felt a tinge of guilt—whenever he had received a gift from the older woman he hadn't really done anything. No thank you note, no reaching out with a letter. "I… thank you very much ma'am." Flipping an omelet, the redhead looked down intently at the frying pan as he cooked, he didn't even begin to understand how to deal with women who treated him in any sort of matronly way—the man was completely out of his element.

He just wanted to go home.

Chuckling as she stirred the soup, "You're welcome Gaara. Anyways what I wanted to talk to you about was about how you wanted to marry Ami." Michiko smiled to herself when she saw the man tense up in the corner of her eye, "You have my permission. I've watched how you two act together these past few days and I do think my daughter would be happy married to you."

The man spun around to thank her, when he saw a tired Ami trudge in with his sister—both women looking like the could use several more hours of sleep. Mouthing an incredibly sincere thank you to his future mother in law, Gaara set out the cream and sugar on the table before handing both Temari and Ami a cup of coffee. "Good morning you two. How'd you both sleep?"

Ami was the only one who was able to speak—Temari was never truly functional in the morning until she had some sort of caffeine. "We slept alright… excited to go home though…" running a hand through her blonde hair she looked up at her love with bleary eyes, an eyebrow raising up in confusion as she noticed that Gaara had an uncharacteristically large smile on his face. "What're you so happy about?"

"I'm just happy to be able to take you home." Putting a plate of food in front of both of them, grinning softly at Kankuro when he walked in, "Eat up, we're leaving for Suna in an hour."

The next hour was filled with goodbyes from all of Ami's siblings who lived on the compound, assuring Akio that they had all their supplies well stocked, and packing their bags. Soon enough they were at the gate of the small village, saying one final farewell to all that had wished them goodbye before the four of them set out to their home village.

Kankuro looked over at Ami for a few seconds before looking forward once more as they began the trip back to Suna, "Ami, your family is nice for the most part, your home village is lovely but—"

"You never want to come back there do you, Kankuro?" cutting him short as she looked over at the older brunette.

Shaking his head vehemently, not caring as Temari laughed at him "Never in a million years, I don't know how you lasted for three and a half fucking months holy shit Ami, that place is crazy as hell."

The trip back to Suna was uneventful, the four of them getting back in just two days. Walking through the streets of Suna, the moon and lanterns lighting up their path; Ami, Kankuro, and Gaara waving goodbye to Temari as she went to her apartment with Shikamaru. As the three entered the Kazekage mansion, paused before speaking "Who's turn is it to cook tonight?" She didn't know the order of things anymore now that she had been gone for so long, as well as Temari moving out.

"It's mine. I was just going to make a hot pot since it's easy enough." taking off his hat and knapsack, Kankuro tossed them both onto the couch before opening the fridge. The man froze for several moments before doubling over and covering his mouth. "What the fuck is that smell-!"

Gaara looked curiously at Ami before striding into the kitchen, the redhead covering his nose and mouth as he smelled the rotting stench of almost everything in the refrigerator. "Good god what happened, it smells like something died."

The blonde woman peered into the kitchen, coughing a bit "Oh my god I can taste it-" pinching her nostrils so she couldn't smell anything at the very least. "You two remembered to empty the fridge before you left so nothing would go bad right?" looking at the two men who just stared at her in confusion, Ami rolled her eyes. "Oh my lord you two- okay. Kankuro why don't you go and pick us up some takeout alright? Pretty sure that Udon place is still open. Gaara and I are emptying the fridge."watching as the brunette all but ran out of the house. Ami began pulling out all of the rotten things from the fridge, setting them on the counter one by one. "Use your sand to throw all this crap out, outside okay? It'll make everything smell if we keep it inside."

"Alright, alright." leaning against the wall as his sand tossed everything away in the trashcans outside, Gaara couldn't keep the smile off his face that had persisted for the past few days. She was finally home, and even though some things were different now that Temari had moved out, it was close enough to what he considered normal to finally get him to the point where he was happy again. He was also already planning out what he would do for his proposal- he wasn't a romantic person in the slightest, so that would be hard. Sea foam green eyes widening as he realized he would have to get a ring for her- finding her size would be hard since she had no jewelry, but he was certain he could figure something out.

Ami did her best to get rid of the smell in the kitchen, lighting several candles they had to try and mask the scent along with opening almost every window she could. Raising an eyebrow when she noticed Gaara spacing out she poked the kanji on his forehead gently before pressing their lips together briefly. "What're you thinking about?"

The redhead smile down at her, wrapping his arms around her waist as he pulled her in close. "I'm thinking about you." kissing her in return, resting their foreheads together once he pulled away. "I'm glad you're home."


	26. In Love

_The thirteen-year-old redhead burst into Ami's room without warning—things had been hard for him lately. He was able to control Shukaku now, but the villagers still seemed to hate him immensely. Gaara had known from the start that this would be hard, but he hadn't realized that it would be just this hard. "Ami. I need to speak with you."_

"_You do know normal people knock before they go into someone else's room right? If you keep doing this you're going to walk in on me changing and if that happens I'll disable your sand and punch you in the face." Keeping the stern look on her face until she saw the flicker of guilt course its way through his eyes. They had gotten back from their month of training about nine months prior and while things had been better between them, Ami still didn't quite consider him a close friend yet. The blonde sighed as she put her chin length hair into a tiny ponytail, bracing herself for whatever was about to come. "What do you want Gaara?"_

_Sitting down at the small desk he stared at Ami intensely at her, arms crossed, face stoic, "I need you to be completely honest with me. Can you do that?" seeing the thirteen year old girl roll her eyes a bit before nodding, Gaara continued. "What do you think of me? Do you think of me as a monster?" The boy didn't know much about people. He didn't understand why people held hands and kissed in public, he didn't understand how to make friends, but if there was one thing he understood it was that the girl before him knew him better than anyone else. His father had once made quite sure that Gaara knew Ami had his entire childhood memorized until she had come to Suna. All the things he had done, all the things he had tried to do. Ever since she had come to Suna she had followed him, tracked every single one of his moves. _

_She knew him the best._

_Ami set down her journal and pen on her bed, leaning back against the headboard and pillows. There were three reasons Gaara was asking her this. One; he was suddenly interested in her opinion because he wanted to make their relationship stronger. _

_Possible, but not probable._

_Two; he had developed feelings for her of the romantic sort and wanted to know how she felt._

_Impossible and improbable._

_Three; he was frustrated with how the villagers were treating him and wanted to see what people who spent the most time around him thought about him to see what he was doing wrong._

_Most likely._

"_What I think of you now? I think you're someone who's trying so desperately to gain the approval of people that he's doing it wrong. If you want people to like you, you at least have to accept who you used to be. But you've been shunning it and pushing it away so much that you can't do that." Seeing his stoic façade crumbling slowly into a face of surprise, Ami continued on "I never thought of you as a monster either. I didn't used to like you, but it wasn't because I thought you were a monster. You've always cared way too much about what other's thought of you to be a monster."_

_Gaara stared at her for a few moments, a bit surprised that she was able to tell what was bothering him from just his few questions. He trudged on however; he needed to know these things. "Do you like me now? Do you think the villagers will ever like me?" _

_Smiling gently at him, "I like you Gaara. You're nicer to me than you used to be, you try to carry out conversations. I don't quite know if we're friends yet, but I think we can get there. And I know the villagers will come around one day—they've all noticed you haven't attacked anyone since you all came back from the chuunin exams. Everyone has. It's just them being stubborn." Picking up her journal and getting off the bed, Ami put away the book in her small bookshelf. "You need to start accepting that you're human Gaara. You're human, you have flaws, you have problems, and you have good things about you."_

"_You… You think I have good things about me?" looking at the girl before him, he tried to comprehend all of this. He didn't hear things like this often. He didn't hear people say he had positive qualities, and as much as he hated to admit that there were things he wished people would say to him, he did like it when people said he wasn't horrible. Looking at her analytically, Gaara narrowed his sea-foam green eyes as he stared at her. "How do I know you're not lying to me?"_

_Ami couldn't help the laugh that escaped her mouth at his last question, "You're just going to have to trust me Gaara. It's hard I know, but you're going to have to put a little faith in people if you want them to put faith in you." Winking at him before grabbing the white sash around his waist and pulling him up from his sitting position, "Now get out of my room—I have to take a shower and get changed for bed. If you still want to talk, knock on my door later and I'll let you in." _

_The boy really couldn't help the small smile that came to his face; he liked talking to Ami about these things. Temari and Kankuro were still fearful of him to a certain extent, and there was no chance they would have been this forward with him. She was blunt, and for all he knew she had been honest. Gently removing her hand from his sash, Gaara left the room—pausing at the doorway before he closed it. "Thank you Ami."_

Gaara laid in his bed, frowning softly as he thought back to what had happened all those years ago. Manipulating his sand into freeform shapes, watching intently as it floated about a half-meter above his face as he lay on his back. He had found himself wondering intently about when he should propose, and what Ami would say when he did. Gaara quite honestly had no idea in the slightest what her answer would be if he proposed to her now. They had been dating for about eight months, he could propose on Ami's birthday that was coming up next month in October, but he had a sneaking suspicion that would be too soon. He could propose on their anniversary in February, but he didn't know if that would be too soon as well.

This was hard.

Looking over as Ami came into his room, freshly showered, her wet hair in a ponytail, the corner of his mouth twitched upwards. She'd been home for two months now, and he was still so happy to have her back. He wasn't the best at displaying it according to his siblings, but Ami had seemed to be able to sense it. She'd all but moved into his room too—the only reason she slept in her room now was when she fell asleep meditating.

The redhead moved over a bit in his bed, allowing her to crawl in next to him and cuddle up as he wrapped his arms around her. Gaara kissed the top of her wet head, chuckling softly as she laid her head down on his chest—feeling his t-shirt grow damp slowly from her hair. Ami looked up at him curiously, "What's so funny?"

"I don't know. I'm just in a good mood." Pulling her a bit closer, smiling softly when she began to giggle. "Do you know what you want for your birthday? You're turning twenty two in about a month."

Ami shook her head, resting her temple on his shoulder as she allowed him to pull her closer—her arm draped across his chest in a protective manner. "You've been in a good mood ever since I got home. I'm glad." Pausing for a bit as she thought about what she wanted for her birthday. "Um… I need more ink for my calligraphy? And paper. I can't think of anything creative, I'm sorry."

Shaking his head, "No, I'm just glad you actually have an idea of what you want this year. Usually you have no clue. It's horribly frustrating." Gaara could feel her laughing in his arms, his mouth twitching into a small smile. "Go to sleep, we need to wake up early tomorrow."

The blonde nodded and kissed his cheek, Ami settling back into cuddling with him before quickly falling asleep as Gaara gently traced her spine with the pad of his pointer finger.

He liked this.

He liked being in love.


	27. Marry Me

There weren't many days where Gaara's old urge to destroy something, anything at all, resurfaced. Today though, today seemed to just continually test his progress along with demolishing the good mood he had acquired since Ami had come back. It was exactly sixteen years ago he had killed his beloved uncle, and while he could usually handle this morbid anniversary, everything else that had happened today had just piled on top of him. The entire day he had spent trying to keep himself calm, but he couldn't.

Gaara stormed out of a counsel meeting halfway through, striding through the halls of the Kazekage tower with a near murderous glare. He couldn't take it at the moment, being shouted at by the counsel for decisions he had made, the older members constantly reminding him of his past. The people in the hallway cleared a path as he walked through, fear on their faces.

He hated this.

He hated everything about today.

Walking quickly to keep up with Gaara as he stormed out of the building, Ami was more than concerned. He wasn't answering any of her questions about what was wrong—just speed walking to the mansion. "Gaara please, speak to me!" grabbing his wrist so he would have to stop, the blonde woman was more than surprised when his sand lashed out at her. It quickly stopped, along with Gaara ceasing his walking as he stared at her now bleeding arm in horror. The cuts weren't deep in the slightest, he had caught himself before anything major happened, but the fact that he had caused her to bleed still made his blood run cold.

The redhead couldn't hear what Ami was saying—sound seemed to have stopped reaching his ears somehow. He could tell she was trying to calm him down though, the way she was putting her hand on his shoulder, the expression on her face, the way her green eyes held a desperation in them that he had constantly seen whenever his uncle had tried to calm him down when he was younger. Jerking away when he realized that her blood was slowly dripping onto his white robes, Gaara shook his head violently. "Don't touch me—" moving back several steps "I'm going out to the desert, I'll be back before sun-up."

Ami watched as he disappeared in a whirlwind of sand, leaving her with a slight stinging in her arm, and a crowd of villagers staring in shock at what happened. Shaking her head she made her way to the circular wall that surrounded the village, applying chakra to the soles of her feet to walk to the top. The blonde frowned as she looked out at the vast expanse of desert.

Her first instinct was to find Gaara and try once more to calm him down, but she knew full well that when he got into these moods it was best for all people involved that he was left alone. Smiling at one of the guards on patrol that day as he walked up to her, Ami politely asked him if he could send anyone to find Kankuro since Temari was away on a mission, and if he had some bandages she could use for her arm. The woman sat down on the wall, her legs dangling off the edge as she began to monitor Gaara's chakra. She couldn't see him and from how dim his presence felt Ami estimated that he was about ten kilometers away.

He was safe though, and that was all that concerned her.

Thanking the guard when he handed he came back and handed her an antibacterial ointment for her arm as well as a small roll of bandages, she waited patiently for Kankuro to show up— feeling his chakra approach from her right. Ami screwed open the lid of the ointment, dabbing some onto the cuts Gaara's sand had given her, looking over at Kankuro. "Gaara got upset at the counsel meeting and left. He's about ten kilometers ahead of us."

"I was worried something like that would happen today… it's been sixteen years since Yashamaru died." Looking down he noticed Ami trying her best to wrap up her arm, Kankuro frowning when he saw how poorly she was doing. "Damn you're bad at that." The man sat down next to her on the wall, undoing her bandages before wrapping up her arm. "How'd this happen anyways?

Ami held her arm still as Kankuro wrapped up her forearm, "When Gaara was storming away from the building I grabbed his arm to try and calm him down. He was so upset that his sand just automatically went up to defend him. Didn't do much damage but I think it only made him feel worse. He won't even spar with me because he's afraid of me getting hurt, so I know this wasn't intentional but I think it really freaked him out."

The brunette grimaced as he finished wrapping up Ami's bandages. "Yeah, that'd make him more upset. He's probably out practicing or something—he started doing it when you went back to your village and he got upset." Sighing a bit as he stared out at the desert, "So are you going to stay here until he gets back? Because last time he was gone for about a day and a half."

Nodding and brushing her hair out of her face as the wind did its best to make the blonde strands fall in front of her eyes. "He said he'd be back before tomorrow morning, so I'll wait until then. If he's not back by sun-up I'll go and look for him, but I don't think he'll be gone for too long." Dethatching the canteen on her hip from its small strap that kept it attached, Ami took a large swig of water. A slightly worried look in her eyes as she looked out on the desert, closing her canteen and setting it down on the wall next to her. "Do you think he'll be alright when he comes back? I haven't seen him like this in a long time…"

Kankuro looked over at her in a bit of surprise, it was very rare for Ami to ask him for advice about his younger brother. She usually knew what the red-head would do before his siblings had any idea, the woman had a better insight on Gaara than either him or Temari.

This was strange to say the very least.

"I think… I think he's going to train until he's exhausted, and he's still going to be upset by the time he comes back. But I bet you'll be able to calm him down. You're pretty good at it." Frowning slightly as he heard the counsel shouting at him from the bottom of the wall, "I think they're upset that Gaara left in the middle of the meeting. I'll go and calm them down; you stay here and wait for Gaara all right? Talk to you later." Jumping off the high wall and landing on his feet, Kankuro began to do his best to pacify the counsel.

Ami waited patiently for Gaara to return, not moving a centimeter until she felt his chakra move rapidly towards the village. Standing up from where she had been sitting for so many hours, the woman stretched her limbs. Her love had been gone for what she had to guess was about ten hours—the desert sun had set several hours ago.

The man appeared in the village plaza—still feeling upset, but too exhausted from everything to continue. Spinning around when he felt an all too familiar chakra come up from behind him, Gaara stared at Ami as she approached him—his face staying stoic and impassive despite how he felt. Seeing her bandaged arm though, he frowned—his voice soft with shame as he spoke, "Ami… I'm sorry. Are you hurting?"

"Hmm? It's all right—Kankuro helped me wrap it up. It's just a scratch Gaara, don't worry about it, doesn't hurt that bad at all." Gently taking his hand and leading him back to the Kazekage's mansion. "It's late, let's go back home."

Walking several steps behind her as they slowly made their way back home, allowing her to tug him gently through the streets, lanterns and the moon lighting their way. Gaara stared at the back of her head intently, still frowning and speaking softly. Her words weren't doing much to comfort him like they usually did. "Are you made at me? I hurt you."

Ami sighed, stopping in the middle of the street and looking back at him with a small smile. "Did you do it on purpose? Did you make your sand harm me?" seeing the look of genuine horror at the mere suggestion of him doing such a thing make its way into Gaara's eyes as he said no, her smile grew "Then I'm not mad. Your sand acts independently of you Gaara— especially when you're upset. I grabbed you when you were upset and your sand thought I was trying to attack you, so it came to your defense. Being mad at you would be pointless. Being upset would be pointless. I know you wouldn't hurt me, you won't even spar with me it's frustrating as hell."

Feeling a simultaneous surge of fresh pain, and love for the woman before him swell up in his chest, Gaara stared at the woman before him. He loved her. He loved her so much that right now he honestly thought his heart was breaking once again. He couldn't keep himself from saying the next three words that came out of his lips, today had been hell but in his irrational state of mind he thought that if he could only make sure she wouldn't ever leave him things would be alright. "Ami, marry me."

The silence hung for what simultaneously seemed like years, and microseconds. The redhead man's blood running cold as he realized what he had blurted out, he himself freezing in shock and horror that he had proposed that way—all sense of ration and reason flooding back to him at once. Ami turned around to face him, silently taking in the look of pure panic on his face—while keeping the same gentle smile on her own that she always used to comfort him.

"I'm going to guess by the look on your face that you didn't mean to say that yeah?" watching him nod in affirmation of that statement, Ami squeezed his hand gently, walking backwards as she began to tug him home once more. "Then my answer is no. Let's just go home and get some rest okay? You need some. You're upset and you didn't mean what you just said."

Allowing himself to be nearly dragged home, Gaara couldn't find the strength to correct her and tell her that he really did want to marry her. Feeling her chakra spike the way it always did when she was upset, the man noticed that she still kept the gentle smile on her face.

Gaara stood in the doorway of the house, staying still as Ami kissed his cheek and went upstairs to go to sleep. The man took off his gourd and shut the door to the mansion, a bit shocked when he noticed Kankuro staring at him in concern. "You alright little bro?"

"I—I was scared and I asked Ami to marry me." Running a hand through his red hair, all that had just happened slowly dawning on him. "I… I think I made her really upset—her chakra is the same as when she's upset." Gaara allowed his brother to push him gently into sitting on the couch, taking the glass of water he was handed and slowly sipping on it.

The brunette ruffled his brother's hair gently, smiling at him as he sat down on the coffee table in front of the couch. "It'll be alright Gaara. I'm sure of it." Seeing he was still distressed, "Ami loves you and she knows you've had a bad day, and that when you have a bad day you do things you don't mean to. It'll be okay. Try asking her again after a while, I'm sure she just said no because she thought that you were scared right?" slowly talking his brother into being calm, Kankuro looked over towards the windows as the sun began to rise.

Finding himself happy that today was his day off, Gaara thanked his brother sincerely for everything before going to his room to get him sleep. Freezing in the doorway for a few moments as he realized that Ami was asleep in his bed, the corners of his mouth twitched upwards before he grabbed his nightclothes and changed in the restroom. Seeing a half-awake Ami looking at him sleepily as he got into bed next to her, Gaara kissed her temple before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her in close to him. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

" It's okay… ask me again when you're calm and my answer will be different okay?" drifting off to sleep as he traced her spine gently with his index finger, Ami adjusted herself so her head was on his chest—smiling sleepily as she heard his heart begin to race at her words.

Gaara held her closer to him, wanting very much to keep her safe and near to him. He couldn't help the smile that was growing on his face at her words, "I will soon…"

Both falling asleep quickly, needing the rest after the long day they had.


	28. Let's Talk

Gaara sipped calmly on his tea, quite relaxed at the moment despite the mound of paperwork on his desk. Things were going well at the moment—a well needed rest from the hectic way things always seemed to be.

The young man paused as he felt his brother chakra from outside his door—closing his eyes and silently praying to whatever God or Gods were in the heaven that they would be calm for once.

He was wrong.

Kankuro burst through the door, speaking loudly and unashamedly. "Oi, Gaara! Is it true you and Ami haven't had sex yet?" laughing when the Kazekage's face turned a bright red and his eyes widened in shock, "Oh my god you haven't—!"

Scowling at the older man when he recovered from the shock, Gaara used his sand to slam the door shut when he realized all the ninja in the hall were staring at the commotion. "What does it matter Kankuro?" crossing his arms, the redhead found himself very glad that Ami was getting lunch at the moment.

"Well it doesn't really matter too much, but have you guys even talked about it?" staring at his brother in surprise when Gaara shook his head no. "Bro you've got to at least figure that stuff out! Find out where the boundaries so no one gets upset you know?" Kankuro sat down on an empty patch of Gaara's desk, pouring himself a cup of green tea and sipping on it. "Communication is key for a good relationship Gaara!"

Gaara watched as Kankuro gulped down the rest of the tea in the cup, hopped off of his desk, and left the room right as Ami walked in. Sighing and sitting at his desk right more, finding himself making a mental note to give Kankuro more interesting missions. When the brunette was bored he tended to crash in randomly and raise hell in some form or fashion.

Or he would work on his puppets; there really wasn't much room for in between with his brother.

The blonde woman watched as Kankuro left the room, arching an eyebrow. "What did he come in to say this time? You really need to give him more work Gaara—" setting a small foam box on his desk. "I got you rice porridge with chicken—hope you like it." Opening a small foam cup of miso soup she had gotten for herself, Ami began to sip on the warm liquid.

"He said we need to communicate about what we want." Taking a small plastic spoon and twirling it in his fingers slowly as he looked at her, Gaara tried to gauge what her reaction to be as he continued. "He also wanted to know if we've had sex, and said that we need to talk about it if we haven't. "

Not fazed in the slightest at his latter statement, Ami took another sip of her soup before setting the foam cup down. "Alright then—let's talk about sex, we're both adults. I don't want to have any until I'm married. I don't want to risk getting pregnant. And I'm pretty sure about half of the counsel would have a conniption fit if you had a child out of marriage. What about you? Do you want to have sex?"

Grateful for her frankness in the situation, he didn't really know how he would handle it if she started getting embarrassed and was unable to talk about the subject. Gaara took a bite of his porridge, taking time to choose his words before swallowing. "I don't want to have sex either. You getting pregnant is a definite concern, you're right about the counsel having a fit if that happens. I don't imagine them having a positive reaction at all." Pouring himself another cup of tea—looking over the rim of his cup at her, not mentioning the bigger reason for not wanting to become intimate yet—his very real fear of hurting her somehow. He had heard that a woman's first time was painful, and the man could not stand it if he hurt her.

Gaara could barely stand it that her job was protecting him—and he knew very well that she would gladly die doing just that. He didn't want to cause her pain. She was strong and tougher than most anyone he knew but still, the fear of harming her remained quite real.

He loved her, and wanted to keep her safe.

"Glad we got that settled huh?" chuckling a bit at how much of a non-issue that was she took a sip of her soup before pouring herself a cup of miso soup. She and Gaara seemed to be in the same frame of mind about most things, or at the very least both had a good sense of what the other would want or need in certain situations. "I love you Gaara."

The man tensed up slightly, gripping the plastic spoon in his hand a bit tighter at her words. Usually he was alright with her declarations of affection if he had a clue that they were coming, but he hadn't had any sort of idea that was coming. Looking up and frowning when he realized she was smirking at his reaction, Gaara used his sand to take her cup of soup from her, pick her up and set her in his lap. Kissing the woman deeply, it was his turn to smirk at her reaction. "I love you too Ami."


	29. Sparring

_Ami got into an offensive stance, grinning wide at her redheaded opponent. It was the eighteen-year-old young woman's birthday, and when Gaara had told her that he wasn't able to think of a gift for her this year, the woman had told him he could make it up to her by sparring with her. _

_They rarely sparred anymore, before he had become Kazekage they had made sure to spar once about every two weeks and now it happened maybe once or twice a year. Her green eyes analyzing everything he was doing—Ami began her charge on Gaara. _

_The man didn't move during her assault on him, his sand protecting him immediately for each of her strikes. He watched her with a bit of disappointment—she wasn't even taking out her sword to deal with him, using kunai, shuriken, along with her own fists. "Ami… what in the world are you doing?" she knew his fighting style better than this—she had been with him almost every second during the war._

_She knew this wouldn't work right?_

"_It's all part of a plan Gaara!" neck nearly snapping as he focused back on her—watching the blonde make at least twenty shadow clones surround him, all wearing the same smirk she got whenever she was certain she was about to win a battle. _

_All of the Ami's, clones as well as the original threw their weapons at Gaara—the smirk staying very prominent as his sand surrounded him in a sphere. In unison they began to make hand-seals, all of the weapons that had hit Gaara's sand bursting into flames. _

_The redhead could feel the heat from inside of his sphere of sand, quickly beginning to sweat. Was Ami trying to bake him? Sea foam green eyes widening when parts of the sand became so hot that it melted—becoming a grainy, almost clear substance. _

_She was melting his sand. _

_Quickly teleporting himself out of there, using the sand that was in his gourd, Gaara brought himself to the west end of the training field—a bit unnerved. He knew the woman would never kill him, or injure him horribly. If there was one thing about her, it was that she wasn't going to hurt him like that. _

_The fact that she had learned such a powerful jutsu without him knowing in the slightest though, that disturbed him. He had assumed long ago that he had outclassed her in power, but now that theory was beginning to come into question. "When did you learn that?" watching as the sphere cooled into what looked like a bubble who's top was beginning to collapse slowly. _

_Ami flash stepped to about two meter's away from her charge, still smirking. "It's a jutsu I've been perfecting since I visited home when I was fourteen. My father told me a long time ago that if I want to protect you, I have to be able to beat you. I can fight with more than my sword Gaara, I've got a whole range of things I can use that you don't even know about." Sliding into her offensive stance, the blonde noticed in the back of her mind that the small crowd was no longer cheering and that Gaara's eyes had changed from being bored with this fight, to being very much interested. "I won't lose to you! To protect you I need to know how you are defeated, so I will win!" _

_The man braced himself as she ran towards him, the sand going up to defend—he heard the familiar thud of weapons striking his sand. Gritting his teeth a bit, he wasn't sure how he was going to beat Ami if she just continued to turn his sand into glass. She was also able to take away his ability to control sand for about ten minutes by simply freezing his chakra with a seal. It was one of the most infuriating things in the world._

_Even still, he was impressed. He had underestimated her abilities and was pleasantly surprised at how she was doing so far. A small smile of pride and enjoyment growing on his face as they continued to fight, he really did admire the woman's spirit and tenacity when it came to fighting. Even if it was just a simple sparring match between friends, she approached it with her entire strength. "It's going to take more than some fire to defeat me Ami, I won't let you win just because you're my friend."_

"_Gaara, if you don't give it your all and just let me win, I would make sure to kick your ass." Launching herself at him once more, hand signing as quickly as she could before spitting large balls of fire at Gaara in rapid succession. The girl grinned and ran up the thick wall of sand he had put up to defend himself, avoiding the patches of molten glass that had appeared from the heat. "You'd do best not to underestimate me anymore Gaara! I'm stronger than I appear!" not losing her smirk as she cleared over the wall, drawing a kunai from her pouch, or even when a tendril of Gaara's sand wrapped itself around her waist._

_The man's eyes widened a bit when the caught woman disappeared in a loud popping noise, "A shadow clone—" seeing a sudden movement come up to him from his left, he turned his head just in time to get punched in the face by his guard. Falling to the ground as his sand came up to defend him just a few moments later—how had she gotten so fast? From her training as well? She had always been agile compared to him, but never so much that she had actually been able to go faster than his sand. Seeing that she wasn't going to attack him while he was on the ground, Gaara stood up. He would need to come up with a new strategy for this fight._

_Making many more shadow clones, very thankful for the massive reservoir of chakra she had stored up in her sword. Every night before she went to sleep she had made it a habit to store the excess chakra from her day inside of it, ever since she was fourteen. Now, four years later she typically had the same amount of chakra that fifteen chuunin had at her immediate disposal. It was great for times like this—she wasn't sure how long this fight with Gaara would go on, but as long as she had her sword on her hip she would most likely be able to keep up with him until it ended._

_She still wanted to end this quickly though. _

_All of the shadow clones and the original ran towards Gaara at the same time, the man retaliating by using his sand to literally throw them away from him. He knew this trick of hers, she would send a mass of clones at someone and then attack from the rear. Gaara had watched her do it countless times. Raising a wall of sand to protect his blind spot from her inevitable attack, Gaara launched the last clone in the direction of the large glass sphere she had made earlier particularly hard and fast, getting more and more entertained as the sparring match went on. It had been years since he had had this much fun from simply battling someone. _

_The redhead stared when the glass sphere shattered, the clone flying through it onto a bed of fragmented glass. Why hadn't the clone disappeared? Clones always disappeared when they got injured, the thing should have literally gone up in smoke by now. Hearing the small crowd gasp and a soft groan of pain come from what used to be a sphere, the man realized what was going on. That wasn't a clone._

"_Son of a bitch that hurts—" standing up shakily, bleeding quite a bit as shards of glass of all sizes were imbedded in her, a particularly large piece jutting out of her neck. Seeing the look of shock and horror on the redheads face, Ami smiled through the pain in an attempt to keep him calm. "I think I need to go to the hospital. Do you mind if we pick up the fight later?" she watched him nod slowly and walk towards her quickly, seeing the silent panic that was in his eyes. Taking a step and falling to the ground as a sharp and excruciating pain shot through her ankle._

_Gaara grimaced as she fell to the ground, leaning over and gently picking her up into his arms so he was now holding her bridal style. "Don't try and walk, I'll carry you to the hospital." Ignoring the looks he was getting from the small crowd that had been watching them spar, the man was definitely more focused on his bodyguard and her injuries. Noticing the frown on her face as she held on to him as they walked through the village, people staring at the pair of them. "What's wrong? Are you mad?"_

_Shaking her head, "I'm not mad. I just don't like being carried—" her pride being slowly destroyed with each step Gaara took, Ami hated the fact that she was blushing at the moment—this was not the opportune time for her feelings for Gaara to come into play. Grateful as they entered the hospital, she gathered that she must have looked awful simply from how quick all of the nurses and doctors in the emergency room swept in on her. _

_Or it could have been the fact that their Kazekage was carrying her in. _

_She wasn't quite sure. _

_Either way the speed at which the medical personnel took control of the situation was incredible, she had been injected with something before she could object—her vision soon turning fuzzy, all the voices around her seeming to come from farther and farther away as she blacked out. _

_The redhead watched as they wheeled off his bodyguard, sitting down in the waiting room with a guilty sigh. He had gotten much too into the fight, and now she was injured. A doctor had assured him that she would be all right, but he still couldn't stop the sting of his conscious as he thought about what happened. Remembering again that it was in fact Ami's birthday he let out a soft groan, she was probably going to have to spend the night here on her birthday of all days. _

_He did not feel like a good friend at the moment. _

_Soon enough Temari and Kankuro had joined him, both trying their best to comfort him while they waited for the doctor's word on how Ami was doing. Wondering in the back of his mind why they were coddling him so much now that Ami was hurt, usually they just teased him about how close he and his guard were. The seventeen-year-old Kazekage didn't understand it at all._

_Brushing off these thoughts when a doctor walked into the waiting room and informed them that they could see Ami now, Gaara quickly stood up and strode into the blonde's hospital room. Another pang of guilt coming to him, she was more bandaged than he had ever seen her. Looking at the sleeping woman for a few moments before sitting on a chair next to her bed, crossing his arms and staying silent. The man remained there all night, waiting for her to wake up patiently even after his siblings had left to go home. _

_Ami woke up with the sun, doing her best to sit up, letting out a slew of horrible and foul curses as her entire body protested in pain. Falling back into the bed, turning to Gaara when she realized he was there. "When can I go home?"_

"…_You can't even sit up because of pain and you want to go home?" seeing her nod, an all too familiar look of determination and pride set like stone on her face Gaara sighed, "You can ask the nurse when she comes in, but you're not getting out of here early like you did last time Ami." The last time she was in the hospital was when she had gotten her skull fractured after trying to protect him about three years prior. He couldn't figure out how, but the girl had found some way to convince the doctor that she would be better off recovering at home. _

_Giving Gaara a slight scowl, wondering how he was able to tell what she was planning before she had even mentioned it. "Fine, fine…" managing to sit up straight in bed, adjusting her pillows so she was a bit more comfortable while doing it. The woman blessed her high tolerance for pain, sighing before she smiled at Gaara. "Guess we kind of overdid it huh? We should probably be more careful next time… oh well—Dad always said it wasn't a good fight unless everyone involved gets hurt." Laughing a bit, not angry in the slightest with what had happened. She was fine, there didn't seem to be any sort of lasting damage that she could tell. Her arms and legs seemed to be working well enough, aside from what she assumed was a sprained ankle. _

_There was no need for anger._

_Gaara still felt a tinge of guilt; she was in the hospital because he had been careless. "Ami I'm so—" cut off by her poking the kanji on his forehead fairly hard, the man frowned at her. "What was that for? I was apologizing." _

_Poking the kanji once more, frowning just as harshly at him as he was at her. "Stop feeling guilty. There's no need to apologize when I'm not even upset with you—" a bit surprised when his sand armor began to crack, Ami lowered her arm and stared, "Good lord, are you really that nervous…?" she had never seen him lower his guard like this before, even if they were all alone at home he kept his sand armor up at all times. _

"_No I—" he couldn't help it. For once in his life the sand wasn't listening to him. It was almost as if Ami's touch brought his guard down completely. Feeling extremely vulnerable at the moment, Gaara frowned when he heard the bell like tinkling of Ami's laugh. _

_The woman patted his shoulder gently, grinning wide at him. "Don't worry Gaara! I'll keep you safe alright?" not noticing the light pink coloration that was forming on his cheeks in the dim morning light, Ami quickly went on to ask him about any tactical tips he had for her about her new jutsu._

Ami hummed a soft tune as she sharpened her new sword that had come in the mail from her home village; they had kept her first after she had sealed a demon within it. Sitting on a bench at the training grounds, the woman paid no one else much mind. Her love was in a meeting with the counsel, and Kankuro had offered to take over guarding him for the rest of the day.

She didn't even need to think about it.

Lightly tapping her finger to the sharp end of her sword, pulling away and examining the digit—smiling softly when she noticed a single drop of blood welling up from a near invisible cut. Her sword was finally sharp enough. Ami stood up, testing the weight of the thing in her hands—it seemed to be just a few grams heavier than her old sword, but it wasn't anything near an inconvenience.

Feeling a familiar blanket of chakra surround her, Ami turned on her heel "Hey! How was your meeting with the counsel? Hope you don't mind that I left, my family finally sent a sword after two month and I wanted to test it out." Inserting her sword into the sheath that was attached to the belt on her hips, she walked towards her beloved redhead.

"It's alright, I understand." Gaara smiled at her when she reached him, "The meeting was fine, the counsel seemed fairly subdued today but I'm assuming it is because last meeting I stormed out halfway through. I'd be worried but I'm sure next meeting they will all be back to their normal composure." Seeing an all too familiar look on her face Gaara shook his head when the blonde opened her mouth to speak. "I'm not sparring with you Ami."

Ami groaned loudly, "Why not? So I got hurt a few years ago it's no big deal Gaara—" seeing that the man was so set in his decision she rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I'll spar with Kankuro, Shikamaru or Temari later—" poking the kanji on his forehead, still frowning at him when he calmly grabbed her hand.

Quickly pressing their lips together for a few brief moments, Gaara pulled away and gently tugged on her hand before leading her out of the training area "Let's get lunch. We'll go to that traditional place you like." The man didn't mind holding hands with her in public anymore, kissing and hugging her in public places was something he was still hard pressed to do, but he had a feeling one day he would be able to do that. The two walking to the restaurant, Gaara glanced sideways to his love, sea foam green eyes analyzing her in the comfortable silence. "Are you having a good birthday? You're twenty two now."

The blonde chuckled, glancing up at him as well. "I've had a great day, I really, really have." Kissing his cheek as they walked, not even bothering to hide her laughter when he began to blush at her simple action. It was turning into an unspoken game between them, each trying to get the other to blush the most. Usually done in the privacy of the mansion when they were alone, performed with hugs, kisses, and small words of affection. Usually it was Ami that won the game between them, but every once in a while Gaara would say something that completely floored her in both how romantic it was and how eloquent it was. Her heart would skip several beats, her face would turn a bright red, and a smirk would make itself known on Gaara's face.

The rest of the day was fairly uneventful; the two had a wonderful lunch together before heading back to the Kazekage's office so Gaara could continue on with his work. Headed home together hand in hand when the sun began to set, Ami couldn't help the smile that was on her face. She just felt so extremely happy at the moment that she couldn't contain herself. Just giggling when Gaara asked her why she was smiling, she couldn't put it into words.

Soon enough after dinner they were in bed, Gaara's arm draped around her in a protective manner. His chest against her back as he held her as close as possible to him, taking in how she felt in his arms. How soft she felt under his fingertips as he traced circles on her forearm. How she somehow managed to smell like flowers when they were in the middle of the desert and the only flowers were in his cactus garden and the medical herb greenhouse near the hospital. Silently resting his head on the crook of her neck, Gaara stayed silent for a few minutes—monitoring her chakra to see if she was asleep yet. "Ami, are you still awake?"

"Yeah—why?" turning around so they were facing each other now, sticking her tongue out when he made a noise of disagreement. He had finally gotten comfortable and now he had to adjust his hold on her. Placing a kiss on the tip of his nose to pacify the man who was now wearing an all too familiar scowl, Ami gave him a bright smile.

Frowning at her slightly when she kissed his nose—a blush growing on his cheeks despite his facial expression. "I have a question. How long have you had feelings for me?" They had been dating for about eight months now and he had only just realized he didn't know that information. He couldn't quite pinpoint when he himself had started being attracted to Ami, but if he had to guess that it had started after the war when they were about seventeen. For her side though he truly had no idea.

Ami had to think about that question, not shocked at all that he asked her something like that so late at night. It was in Gaara's nature to start thinking deeply when eh couldn't sleep—some of their best discussions had taken place after the moon and stars had replaced the sun in the sky. "I started liking you a little bit after I turned fifteen? So you were fourteen still—don't really know how it started to be truthful, I just kind of realized one day that I didn't see you in just a friendly way anymore… don't have a better way to really describe it." Thinking about when she fell in love with him she frowned slightly, "I don't know when I fell in love with you either… it just sort of happened. I know I realized it at the Rain Festival when we were eighteen though—the realization just kind of came upon me while we were talking that night."

The redhead's eyes were wide in shock; she had feelings for him for that long? "You didn't tell me… you had feelings for me at all for six years? How in the world did you hold it in for so long—" he had only lasted about three months after he realized out that he loved her, he couldn't see how she could possibly last six years.

"Well I had to at first! Keepers and their charges cannot be together romantically. If it ends then things can be really horrible. And then after Shukaku got taken out of you we got in a war and I didn't think that was good time to do that in the slightest. Then after the war I realized how you reacted to girls when they told you about their feelings, you avoided everyone who has ever told you they love you—me being the only exception. I didn't want you to avoid me." Shrugging the best she could since they were both lying on their sides, Ami gave him a gentle smile as she giggled softly. "Besides, I told you in other ways. I got more protective of you, didn't you notice? I started getting on your case about not skipping meals when you're stressed, I made sure to follow you when you left the house at night… it wasn't exactly the best way to show how I felt, and I know that it really bugged you but it was all I could really manage without possibly fucking up our friendship. I didn't want to scare you with my feelings and mess everything up like those other girls did." Giggling softly when he traced the large scar on her neck with the tip of his index finger, the calloused digit slowly going over something that it had caused.

Gaara didn't know what to say in the slightest. This was where the biggest gap between them truly was. The blonde woman that lay next to him was good at speaking. Yes, he could make speeches to encourage the masses, but when it came to telling someone his feelings one on one, opening himself up and letting himself be completely vulnerable to her, to anyone was still something that he struggled with to this very day. Feeling both incredibly touched and completely floored at the same time Gaara stayed quiet before bringing her close to him once more, making sure kissing the top of her head not caring in the slightest that that her hair was wet. Finding himself muttering "Thank you" and "I love you" over and over as he held her tight, not knowing what else in the world to say and not knowing how to stop.

The blonde gently cupped his cheeks and kissed him, silencing him effectively. Gently poking the kanji on his forehead, "I love you too. Now get to sleep, you've got a meeting with the head of ANBU tomorrow and you need to be awake for that." Ami cuddled up to him once more before closing her eyes and slowly falling asleep in the arms of her love.


	30. Happy Anniversary

Ami sat on her bed cross-legged, green eyes closed, taking even breathes as she tried to meditate. About to get into her most peaceful state of mind when her door slammed open, Gaara barging in. The blonde's eyes furrowed as she tried to go back to the calm she had just gotten to, speaking to him with her eyes closed. "Why don't you ever knock?"

"What do I get you for our anniversary?" arms crossed as he stood at her doorway, using his sand to close the door so they would have some privacy. "Kankuro said to get you jewelry which you hate, Temari said to do something romantic which I know you don't care about. What do I do?"

Sighing before turning to him, frowning slightly as she looked at her boyfriend. "That doesn't answer my question—anyways, I don't really care. I don't have anything I need or want. You don't have to get me anything— if we just spend time together I'll be really happy Gaara." Pausing for a bit as she thought of her own question. "What do you want?" she didn't know what to get him either—his birthday had been just last week, and the only thing he had wanted was a rare cactus that grew near Kumo. A simple letter to her brother who was a keeper there and he had sent one to her sealed in a scroll for his birthday.

The tiny cactus was currently sitting on the corner of his desk, and while hadn't really noticed the addition of the unassuming little thing, she had noticed Gaara staring at the cactus fondly every so often.

Gaara blinked, he didn't know what he wanted either. He had received everything he had asked for just a few days ago. "I don't—I don't want anything either." He frowned, not really knowing what that meant. Couples were supposed to give gifts for their anniversary right? "What should we do then?"

The blonde woman chuckled softly as she put her long hair into a messy bun so it would stop getting in her face, "We just don't get each other anything. It's really simple Gaara. Plus it saves us each a bunch of stress of trying to figure that stuff out." Watching as Gaara's sand encased her left hand in sand and gently tugged on her to get out of the bed, Ami gave him a playful look. "I'll come out soon, I just need to meditate. I haven't done it in a few weeks."

Making the sand slip off her hand Gaara nodded, turning around as Kankuro barged into the room—"What do you two want for dinner?"

"Do you two know how to knock at all? I've known you both for fifteen years and you have never knocked once-" looking at both of them in mild annoyance now before rolling her eyes when Kankuro shot her a look of confusion and her boyfriend just shrugged, "Whatever, I'm fine with anything, Doesn't matter to me."

The redhead nodded in agreement of Ami, holding a small ring of sand—compressing it until it had become stone. Putting it into his pocket, very thankful for the idea Shikamaru had given him about how to get Ami's ring size. Gaara left the room, walking to his office to work on paperwork until dinner was ready.

Just a few days later the two found themselves walking along the moonlight streets of Suna, holding hands, fingers laced together. "Gaara, where are you taking me?" giving him a curious look as he led her to the oldest training grounds that were in the village—worn down and decrepit the walls around the place were crumbling from all of the missed attacks that had hit them.

"This is the place where I started thinking of you as a friend. Did you know that?" leading her to the center of the training grounds, looking extremely serious as he spoke, "You were helping me train so I could be the Kazekage, you kept making me get up even though I was exhausted and you barely had any chakra left. We both passed out "

Ami hadn't known that was when he started thinking of her as a friend, but she did remember that day very clearly. The woman nodded, "I remember that day—I'm pretty sure I was shouting at you every time you went easy on me. We both passed out and Temari and Kankuro took us to the hospital." Chuckling a bit, as she recalled what happened when they woke up. "We scared the shit out of those two, I remember Temari yelled at us for a solid half hour for not taking care of ourselves."

The redhead steeled his nerves before taking Ami's hands in both of his, saying the speech he had practiced constantly in his head all night. "Ami, I love you. You make me more happy than I ever thought I could ever be. I want to be with you always, not just a keeper and their charge. So I wanted to know if you would—" cut off when he heard a very familiar voice shouting his name Gaara's neck nearly snapped as he turned to look, seeing a familiar blonde ninja clad in orange walking towards them with a huge grin on his face.

"Gaara! Ami! What are you two doing here so late at night? This isn't a very romantic place for a date Gaara it's super run down." Seeing the redhead scowling at him Naruto blinked, "Why are you so grumpy? Ami are you nagging him again—"

The woman couldn't keep her laughter repressed; this situation was just too funny for her. Knowing full well what Gaara had been about to do she patted her boyfriends hand gently to try and calm him down. "He's just grumpy today, he gets like that sometimes, don't worry about it." Seeing Gaara direct his scowl at her out of the corner of her eye she continued speaking. "What are you doing here Naruto?"

Grinning wide, "I just got here on a mission! Me and Hinata were bringing a civilian back. Anyways Gaara I wanted to talk to you—Do you mind Ami?" seeing that Gaara's scowl hadn't gone away in the slightest his own smile faltered, had he interrupted something?

"No it's fine! Don't mind at all." Laughing very much on the inside when Gaara's frown grew even more, doing her best to keep herself from laughing out loud. Ami walked away from the training grounds, kissing Gaara's cheek first—amused by the pink blush that grew on his face and the very visible mixed emotions playing out in his eyes. "I'm going back to the mansion, see you two later~!"

Gaara watched as his love left the training grounds laughing, turning his scowl back to Naruto. "Naruto, can you read the atmosphere at all? I was proposing." Sighing and running a hand through his hair, the other digging the very simple brushed gold engagement ring he had gotten Ami. No jewel or gemstone, dulled down so that it wouldn't reflect as much light—it had been hell getting this made right. None of the jewelers in town had what he wanted for her. The man had used his sand to craft this ring himself, the only thing setting this ring apart was the date that she had come to live in Suna and guard him.

The blonde man stared in shock, "You were? That's great man!" hugging his friend tightly before he realized what he had done. "Oh shit sorry Gaara—I didn't know. You can ask her some other time…?" smiling sheepishly as his the redhead sighed and gently pushed him away with his sand.

"It's fine… you didn't know. I'm just nervous I suppose. I asked her about a month ago and she said no, it's taken me a bit to get the courage to ask her again." Crossing his arms as he walked out of the training grounds with Naruto, "What did you want to talk about?"

Ami hummed a soft tune as she braided her long hair before going to bed, the blonde strands still damp from her shower. Feeling Gaara's chakra enter the mansion she noticed the strange churning of it, able to simply feel his anxiety at the moment. The blonde propped the pillow on her side of their bed up, leaning against the headboard as she read the book her sister had sent her, Ami glanced at Gaara as he entered the room and grabbed his pajamas from the dresser. "Do you want to finish asking me? My answer won't be different if you had finished asking me at the training grounds."

Frowning, it didn't surprise him that Ami knew what he wanted to ask. "No. It has to be special. I'm going to make sure it's special—" he was determined, the man wasn't very romantic but he wanted to make sure that the story of him proposing was something that she would enjoy telling and remembering for the rest of his life. Going to the bathroom without saying another word the man changed in a huff—doing his best to calm down.

Tonight had not gone as planned.

The blonde smiled at him when he came out of the bathroom, dog-earing her book and setting it on the nightstand. "I know you don't think the night went well, but I did have a really great time. It's not often we're able to go out like that and even though everything you wanted to happen didn't happen I still had a wonderful night and a great time with you."

"I'm glad…" not able to keep himself from smiling when she giggled as he pulled her close to her. It'd work out eventually, he was sure. Kissing the top of her head as she fell asleep in his arms, Gaara wished her a happy anniversary before closing his eyes and going to sleep as well.


	31. Chess

Naruto scowled at the blonde woman in front of him, not understanding how she kept beating him at chess. Sliding his queen forward right in front of her king, the blonde smirked—he'd definitely be winning this round. "Check!"

Knocking over his king with her bishop Ami gave Naruto a bright smile, "Checkmate!" laughing loudly when she saw him stare at her in shock, she was glad she had Naruto to pass the time with while Gaara was in his meeting. She was a patient woman, but for all of Gaara's office hours today he would be in a meeting with the counsel—it happened once a year and during the meeting they tackled all of the problems that the village had at the moment, along with deciding who became Jonin, who became part of the ANBU, things of that nature. Ami had been waiting outside for several hours when Naruto had come to greet her with a portable chessboard. "Do you want to try again? I don't mind playing again."

The man shook his head, still pouting about his latest loss against the younger woman. "No I don't want to play again—" brushing the chessboard and pieces with a broad sweep of his arm, pushing them all against the wall. Adjusting his sitting position a bit, he and Ami were sitting on the very uncomfortable floor. "Anyways, I wanted to ask you a question. Why'd you say no to Gaara when he asked you to marry him?"

"Of course you couldn't ask that in a private place— why do you want to know anyways Naruto?" looking at the people around them that had all stopped speaking to listen in on the conversation. Speaking to them now and not Naruto, "If you don't need to be here, scram." Watching as they all quickly left Ami sighed and adjusted the Suna headband that was tied around her neck, grateful that so many years with Gaara had made her extremely adept at scaring people away.

The blonde man couldn't repress the nervous chuckle as the others in the hallway scurried away, Ami did have a talent for being forceful and intimidating when she needed to be. "I want to know because he's my friend. Do I need a better reason?"

Ami rolled her eyes, taking a swig of water from her canteen before speaking. "Fine. You want to know why I didn't say yes? Because Gaara didn't mean to ask me." Seeing the confusion in the other's blue eyes she continued. "Gaara isn't romantic—there's no denying that. But he still plans out each date and outing we have pretty carefully—even if we just go for a walk he makes sure we take the route where there are the least amount of ninja's on patrol so we don't get stared at the entire time. He didn't mean to ask me. He was scared, and upset, and angry at the world and he asked me because he was afraid that I was going to leave him like a lot of other people he's cared about have. If I had said yes he would have felt even worse that he didn't make it romantic or special. That it didn't get to be what he wanted for us."

Frowning at her explanation, looking at the woman before him. It wasn't that he didn't trust her in protecting Gaara. He had seen her almost get killed several times by trying to protect him. It was more about her taking care of Gaara emotionally that he was worried about. Although he had to admit, Gaara's letters had taken a more happy tone ever since he had started dating the blonde woman. Naruto sighed, "I guess that makes sense…" standing up and putting up the tiny chessboard into his backpack. "I'm going to go—I told Hinata that I'd show her around Suna!"

The blonde woman watched as he walked away, sighing and leaning against the wall as she thought back to when she had first started dating Gaara.

_Ami was more than surprised when she walked into her room and saw that both Temari and Kankuro were sitting on her bed, waiting for her patiently. Giving them a look of confusion as she motioned loosely to the small room they were in. "Um…. You two do know that this is my room right? If you want to talk to Gaara he's downstairs making dinner—"_

"_We wanted to talk to you Ami." Temari was the first to speak—she loved the girl before her like she was her own sister, but they really did need to speak to her. "We wanted to make sure you won't hurt Gaara."_

_The two older Sand Siblings glanced at each other when the look of indignation and what seemed like offense crossed Ami's face, Kankuro raising his hand to silence her when she started going on and on about how she would never hurt Gaara, how she waited to tell him because she didn't want to hurt Gaara. "That's not what we mean. Anyone who's known you for a day knows that you'd die protecting Gaara. What we mean is that the only way you can hurt Gaara is if you literally die. You can't just rush out and protect him without a plan anymore Ami, if you die protecting him now he'll blame himself." _

_The blonde woman sat down on her dresser as she listened to Kankuro speak, feeling her heart sink a bit. She didn't want to hurt Gaara, but she couldn't bring herself to stop protecting him. It was instinct at this point. She couldn't help herself from protecting him anymore. "Then… Then I won't die. I'll live on and on beside him and I won't get killed no matter what happens to me. I can protect Gaara and stay alive! I did it through a war, I did it during dangerous missions, I can do it now during times of peace!" smiling at the two siblings, seeing that they still looked at her with a fair amount of worry on their faces. "It'll be alright. I'll take care of your brother, don't worry." _

Broken out of her reverie when the door to the counsel room opened, Ami stood up—watching as all of the councilmen filed out one by one, Gaara leaving last. Smiling brightly at her love as he crossed the threshold of the door "Hey! How'd the meeting go? You guys weren't in there as long as you usually are." Taking in the worried look in his eyes, Ami's smile quickly turned into that of a frown as they walked down the hallway "What's going on?"

"There's a group of ninja that don't want me as Kazekage. We don't know who they are at the moment, but we know that they are in all of the ranks, even the ANBU— a fairly large amount. They're in almost every group." Looking over at Ami, seeing her face pale slightly at his words. "They said that I need to hire more guards but I quite honestly don't want to. Between you, Temari, and Kankuro and my own skills I feel confident that I'll be alright."

Ami nodded, "Those two and myself are the only ones that I trust to protect you adequately—I know a lot of others who would try to protect you but they wouldn't be much help…" feeling her heart sink a bit at this news, nervousness starting to slowly build within her. Speaking as his guard now—no longer thinking as his girlfriend "No more going out on walks at night or on the roof until we find out who these people are and if they're violent. If you leave the house tell me and bring your gourd and some weapons just in case. I'm going to start bringing more weapons on me as well—" walking out of the building and to the mansion she looked over every ninja they passed in the street with a suspicious and analytical eye.

She'd be damned if they hurt her love.


	32. Sickness

Ami would never admit it, but ever since Gaara had received a letter from an unknown group of ninja within the village, she had been consumed with fear and nervousness. Time that had been spent chatting with her boyfriend was now spent holed up in her room studying scrolls upon scrolls of offensive jutsu to use, she had almost completely stopped acting like a girlfriend and was almost constantly on guard duty mode. The young Kazekage had received threats to his well being before, this wasn't something particularly new, but it was the fact that they had found the letter pinned to the refrigerator one morning that truly made her blood run cold.

Someone had gotten into the house while they were all asleep to threaten him, leaving a note that told Gaara that he either needed to resign or he would be killed. She remembered finding it as she had gone to get cream for her coffee- the woman freezing in terror as she read it and staying frozen until Gaara had snapped her out of it. She was afraid to sleep now—what if they came to his room the next time? Gaara had already publicly stated that he had no intention of stepping down from office because of a threat. What if she couldn't wake up and protect him in time? So many what if scenarios ran through her mind at all times, she only trusted three people besides herself to protect Gaara with all their might that lived in the village, and about ten others not to hurt him.

She slept with a dagger under her pillow, and her sword propped up against the nightstand.

Not going to sleep wasn't an option—she had gotten away with it for about five days right after they had gotten the letter, telling Gaara that she simply couldn't sleep. The fifth day though, after seeing Ami speak to a puppet Kankuro had left in the den, thinking it was Kankuro, Gaara had drawn the line and forced her to go to bed and sleep.

Gaara didn't know how to help her. He could tell that she was trying to hide her fear and nervousness—trying to act calm so he wouldn't panic. He hated this, hated to see her so scared. Hated to see her so anxious. Ami's nightmares had returned again, she would wake up in a cold sweat, hyperventilating, tears streaming down her face almost every night and there wasn't a thing he could do to help. All he was able to do was gently shake her away when he felt her chakra spike in her sleep, get her a glass of water, and try not to scream in frustration when she wouldn't tell him what the nightmare was about.

That night was the worst. Plagued by visions of all those she had killed, hundreds of bloody and mutilated faces coming back to her—begging her to return their lives and their souls. Demons raced through her mind as beings of fire burnt down all that she loved, Inugami eating her family alive as she was bound by thin ropes of chakra. That goddamned Deidara killing her love over and over and over and over and over and over once while all she could do is scream, her cousin Kenji being devoured once more before her as crimson liquid filled the entire world around until there was no more air to breathe, blood filling her lungs as she choked and sputtered for air.

All of her loved ones questioning why she wasn't protecting them, why she wasn't doing her job.

Her brother Takehito's words of her needing to atone and make good on all of her sins rang through her ears, his speeches to the ex-keepers playing on repeat. She was useless. She was impractical. She was a murderer. She was a sinner. She didn't deserve happiness when it was her fault that she was here in what was most certainly hell.

The blonde stumbled out of bed screaming in her native tongue for it all to stop, flailing and swearing when Gaara tried to restrain her with his sand—Ami broke away and ran to the restroom. Promptly vomiting into the toilet, Ami took short gasps of air during each interval of bile spewing out of her mouth. Thankful that Gaara was there to kneel beside her and rub her back with one hand as he held back her hair with the other, she guzzled down the water he handed her—trying to calm herself down. "Thank you Gaara. You should go back to sleep—you've got work tomorrow." Not even bothering to try and say she was all right, she hadn't lied to Gaara in her fifteen years of knowing him and she wasn't going to start now. Ami found herself being very glad Kankuro had moved out a few weeks prior to an apartment somewhat close by, she felt bad enough waking up Gaara like this night after night, bothering him as well would have made her feel worse.

"No—No I'm not going to sleep. You're worrying yourself sick Ami. You are literally worrying yourself to the point you are sick." Not even bothering to ask her what her dream was about—she had been talking in her sleep this time, he had heard everything. Grabbing a washcloth from the small cupboard and wetting it under the sink, Gaara passed it to Ami to wash her face with as he thought about what he should say. What would calm her down. What would end this fear that he could tell was consuming her. "Ami. Can you tell me how many assassins you've protected me from? Along with how many people you've protected me from on missions?"

Ami gave him a slightly confused look as she wiped off her face with the cold, damp cloth. "Um… With assassins it was about twelve times I believe? Sometimes they came in groups so I don't know how many people it was… and I've protected you on every mission. Or I've tried to. But we've been on about thirty missions together right? Why do you ask?"

Kissing the top of her head along the beginning of the part in her blonde hair, Gaara spoke just loud enough to be heard. "And you kept me safe every time. Every single time we went out, every time someone tried to attack me you've fought as hard as you can to keep me safe. I've seen you literally defeat a demon. I've seen you fight in a war for heavens' sake. You're a wonderful ninja, and the only time you ever make mistakes is when you are sick. Which you are making yourself. You need to calm yourself about this situation and approach it analytically. There is no use in panicking, it serves either of us no purpose. I've let you do this for a while now, thinking you'd snap yourself out of it but that isn't the case. The best thing we can do in this situation is to stay calm, and stay vigilant."

The woman stared at him for a few moments with weary eyes, her heart beat gradually slowing down to a steady pace with each second he was there. He was right. He was right about everything he just said. Feeling extremely foolish at the moment for all that was going on she couldn't help what came out of her lips next. "How in the hell are you able to stay so calm during all of this? You're the one in danger and you're not even scared I don't understand."

"I have you. There's no reason to be scared." Speaking bluntly to the woman in front of him, this was a simple matter of fact, nothing more nothing less. There was never a reason to be scared when he had Ami around—when they fought together they were nearly unstoppable. Gaara gently took the washcloth from her and tossed it into the dirty laundry hamper before helping her back to bed, lying down next to her. Holding her in his arms, gently playing with a strand of her hair—murmuring what he hoped were comforting words to the woman as she slowly fell asleep once more.


	33. Domesticity

Gaara frowned as he read the novel, he could not understand why this book was so appealing. Both Matsuri and Sari had recommended it to him; he had seen his secretary completely engrossed in the book—the woman reading it whenever she had spare time. It almost seemed that the only people who hadn't read the book were most of the men in the village, along with Ami and Temari.

The redhead could admit several things about himself. He was just a bit shorter than most of the men in his village, even he did not know why he didn't have eyebrows, and he was not the best at being romantic or even understanding romantic gestures. Even as he read this book, which—he made a mental note of—was most definitely not in the "Adventure" genre as Matsuri and Sari had said, he was almost one hundred percent sure that the romantic gestures in this were over the top.

He also had a hunch that what the author had intended to be seen as wild and romantic sex, was anatomically impossible.

Muttering to himself in confusion when he was reading, not noticing that Ami had walked until he heard his girlfriend laugh, "Oh my god Gaara, are you really reading that book? Isn't it the one where the main character goes on like an S-ranked mission or something and then falls in love with like four different guys? And then she has to choose who she wants to marry?"

"No, she fell in love with three. One of them is just her friend." dog-earing the page before setting it down on his desk, "You've read it? Sari and Matsuri wouldn't be quiet about it for so long that I gave in…" nudging the book away with a single finger, feeling very much frustrated by the thing.

Sitting on a patch of free space on his crowded desk, Ami took the book and opened it, checking where he was. "Kind of, Matsuri tried to get me to read it too. Only got about a third of the way in before giving up, it was really bad." Ami looked at him with a teasing grin as she set the book back on the desk, barely able contain her giggling. "Are you liking the book Gaara?"

Gaara gave the blonde a small scowl, the frown only growing when she began to giggle even more. "I don't like it… none of these things seem realistic. How is she in love with three men at once—how do the men not know that she's dating all three of them—" shaking his head, "And I do not understand why Arata bought Haruna three dozen roses when he had only known her for a day—who in the world would spend that much money on someone they barely know? Do women really want that sort of display?"

"It's supposed to be romantic—although I agree that it's over the top. If I had only known someone for a day and they gave me three dozen roses, I'd be more creeped out than anything." Shrugging a bit and laughing sheepishly, "You know me though. I'm not really one who's interested about romantic gestures very much, so I guess some women would enjoy that but as for me I really don't care." Barely reacting when Gaara lifted her off of the desk with his sand and placed her in his lap gently. He did this almost every time now she sat on his desk, Ami didn't have a good reason as to why he did it exactly but she had a feeling that he just enjoyed cuddling.

Even though he would never admit it.

The redhead wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling the woman close to him as she sat sideways in her lap. Looking at the small clock on his desk, grateful that he would be able to go home soon. All his paperwork had been done; Gaara had been staying in his office for the most part just in case someone needed to find him quickly for an emergency. He was looking forward to this weekend and then the next week, soon enough he and Ami would be headed to Konoha to check on everything before the Chuunin Exams. Gaara couldn't help the smile that was creeping onto his face, he really was fond of the Konoha ninja, and the fact that he got to have some alone time with Ami was always a plus. Pressing his lips to her collarbone very gently, Gaara trailed light kisses up to her lips "I love you."

"I love you too Gaara." Unable to fight the own smile off of her own lips, she was so glad he was calm about all that was happening with the assassins. Ami herself was still on guard constantly, even now as he held her she was readying herself for an attack—keeping track of any chakras that approached within thirty meters of where they sat. She was no longer consumed with fear—certainly more anxious than she normally was—but she had been sleeping through the night for the past week fairly peacefully, no more waking up screaming.

As much as she loved the village, Ami had to admit that getting away for a bit would be nice. There was no immediate threat for Gaara's safety in Konoha, and she knew very well that if there was she'd have plenty of capable ninja helping her defend him if needed. The ties between the two villages were stronger and sturdier than she had ever thought possible. Kissing the kanji on his forehead before resting her head on his shoulder, Ami smiled.

She truly loved the domesticity of all of this.

Gaara holding her like this, the fact that they took turns cooking, their banter, their more serious talks. Everything seemed to get more and more perfect as time went on. She'd gladly say yes to him asking her to marry him, something that he had tried once more to do just the other day in his office—interrupted by several genin bursting in and asking for more interesting missions.

He'd get it out eventually, of that she had no doubt—but she knew that his desire for his proposal to go just the way he planned would definitely make it more difficult.

The redhead smiled as he held her close, kissing her temple. "You look so happy right now."

"I'm with you." Grinning from ear to ear, finding a soft laugh escape from between her lips, "Why wouldn't I be?"


	34. Reason for Life

The blonde woman wandered around Konoha by herself, humming a soft tune as she did so. Gaara was speaking to the leaders of the other villages at Konoha's Hokage tower, and afterwards he was going to be shown around all day by both Lee and Naruto—telling Ami that she should go visit her uncle that lived in town since she hadn't seen him in several years. Even she was surprised at how easy it was for her to leave Gaara alone, but after fighting with so many of the Konoha ninja during the war—she knew full and well that many of them would be able to protect him until she got there. Still keeping track of his chakra—tracking any changes in it like she always did, it had become pure instinct after doing it for fifteen years.

Ami chuckled a bit at the irony, she trusted the people of Konoha with Gaara than she trusted the people of Suna, their own village. She was able to justify it with the simple fact that the village of Konoha hadn't yet tried to kill him on multiple occasions, still the humor of it all was not lost on her. Walking into her Uncle Takehito's small weapon shop, Ami smiled wide when she saw the older man with shaggy curly brown hair just a bit darker than her own mother. "Uncle! How have you been?" closing the door to the shop, a small bell tinkling as she walked in.

"Hmm?" Turning around the tall man looked at the young woman in his shop—a bit confused as to who it was for a few moments. Glancing at her face, then to a picture of his sister that hung on the wall—taking in the same high cheekbones, large eyes, small and narrow nose that the girl in his shop also had before it finally came to him. "Ami? What are you doing here—I haven't seen you since you were fifteen! You've grown so much! What brings you to Konoha?" taking long strides and hugging the young woman close, laughing as he held his beloved niece, he rarely saw his sister or her family—Takehito had only seen his nephew that was named after him three times in the past ten years.

Laughing as she was embraced, Ami broke away from her uncle's hug after a few moment's "I'm here as Gaara's guard while they plan for the Chuunin Exams! We'll be in town for a few days— How is Tobirama?" asking about her cousin as she looked around the shop—the last time she had been here, Gaara hadn't even become Kazekage yet. Things had changed a bit, the once white walls were now painted a light purple, and the display of weapons had been moved around. Frowning a bit as she looked for paper for seals and throwing stars—her uncle was a good man but the way he organized his shop was always a bit confusing. "Where is your sealing paper and throwing stars uncle? I can't find them—"

Takehito chuckled softly, at both of her questions, "Tobirama's out on a mission—he should be home before you leave for Suna though!" smiling as they spoke about his adopted son—he wasn't blood related to Tobirama, but he loved him dearly anyways. The boy, or man as the twenty five year old continually protested, was his pride and joy. The brunette walked around his shop, gathering several of the nicest packets of sealing paper, along with ten high end throwing stars for her. "This is on the house—I don't get to see you often enough. But—I've still got to ask you some questions Ami~"

"Oh lord—" sighing as she watched him package up her purchase. Her uncle had conquered the basan inside of him at nineteen, and had retired as a ninja three years later—adopting a son and opening a weapons shop. When Ami had asked her mother why he had done that all Michiko had told her was that he had too much heart to be a ninja after the Third Great Ninja War—hadn't been able to handle killing more people. He made it his policy to ask each customer why they were ninjas and why they were on this earth, or at least something of the like, to make sure that they didn't go out and thoughtlessly kill using his weapons.

He was a philosopher who wanted to make people think, if even for a few minutes.

Ami smiled at her Uncle, brushing a strand of hair from her face "What are your questions for today Uncle? Last time you asked me what the meaning of life was—don't think I had an answer for you."

Leaning against the counter, handing Ami the bag with the things she had asked for. "I want to know the reason you think you exist Ami. And I want to know why you are still a ninja after you've seen so much bloodshed." Crossing his arms, smiling at the woman—he wasn't sure if she would have an answer, but as long as he got her to think deeply it was alright.

Blinking at his question, relieved at how easy that was for her to answer—not much thinking required. "They're the same reason! I exist and I am a ninja because I am the one who protects Gaara. It's why I became a ninja and it's why I was put on this earth."

The brunette stared at his niece in bewilderment, was that really only reason for being a ninja and existing? "That's… a strange answer. Do you really only exist for Gaara? Only stay a ninja because of Gaara? Is that truly your reason for both things or are you just indoctrinated by the training you received as a child?" seeing her green eyes widen as she took in his words, Takehito continued, "Is there no one else you would die to protect like you would for Gaara? No one else you care for? Living your life for just one person is almost as selfish as living solely for yourself Ami. People besides Gaara need you."

Ami stared at him in shock, feeling a strange mix of emotions as he spoke to her. She had never thought about it before. Never questioned what she had been told since she was a child.

What was her reason for existing?

What was her reason for being a ninja?

Surely the reasons she had said made sense when she was a keeper, that sort of dedication was expected on all counts. Living for anyone besides her charge would have been considered a sin and a distraction.

But now, now she had bonds. She had many people she'd be willing to die for to protect, her siblings, her parents, some of her cousins she had grown close to during her stay in her home village, Kankuro, Temari, and obviously Gaara.

So Gaara couldn't be her reason anymore.

But then what was?

Wandering back to the hotel, Ami set the bag on the small desk in the suite she and Gaara were sharing before disrobing and taking a long hot shower— steam filling the bathroom. Slipping into a pair of pajama shorts and a simple white t-shirt after she got out of the shower, Ami came out of the bathroom, blonde hair still quite damp.

Ami lay down in the bed, staring up at the ceiling for hours as she thought about her uncle's words. Thought about why she was a ninja. Thought about why she was on earth.

The fact that she kept coming up with no answers was quiet possibly the most frustrating thing about this.

The blonde sat up in bed when she heard someone enter the suite, soon followed with the sound she recognized as Gaara setting his gourd down by the door and taking off his shoes, and red overcoat before walking into the bedroom. Gaara stared at the woman for a bit—taking in the strange, contemplative look on her face for a few moments before speaking. "Are you alright? It's almost midnight, I thought you would be asleep by now."

"I'm fine. I'm trying to figure out why I'm a ninja and why I exist. My Uncle got me thinking. I don't think I'm going to be sleeping tonight—" running a hand through her messy hair before smiling at him.

She really was alright. More than a bit distressed about this whole predicament, but she had survived after fighting demons, the undead in the last Great Ninja War, after so many things. Ami was certain that this would pass. That she would be able to find a reason for her existence. Why she fought.

Gaara stared at her for a few moments, taking in her smile, taking in the fact that her chakra wasn't spiking in any sort of horrible fashion. His gaze softened slightly before giving her a small smile. "I'll brew us some coffee. I'm not tired yet, and I doubt I'll get tired enough to sleep." He knew she wouldn't want to talk much about what she was thinking—it wasn't in her nature to speak in length about things she didn't understand.

The man didn't want to go to sleep without her though, and he got the strange feeling that she could use a distraction from what was on her mind.

Sleep could wait.


	35. Caves, Snow, and Flowers

_Gaara stared at the mouth of the cave, taking care not to turn around despite the small grunts of pain he heard from behind him. He and Ami had just gone on what was admittedly their hardest mission yet—their third S-rank, and while he was unharmed for the most part due to his sand protecting him, Ami had definitely received the brunt of their opponents' attacks and was currently bandaging herself up. The fifteen year old boy used his sand to poke at the fire to make sure it kept going, wanting to keep the coldness from outside from coming in. Frowning even deeper when he saw the snow gently begin to fall outside, Gaara called back to the sixteen year old behind him. "Are you alright Ami?"_

"_I'm fine-! I'm all right—I'm okay. Don't worry Gaara " cursing softly as she rubbed the medicated ointment onto the wound on her chest, this stuffed burnt more than she thought but at least her wound was closing up right? Wrapping her torso in bandages, finding it hard to breathe with how tight she had did it. The blonde reached for her tattered, once light tan shirt that was stained with the dark brown of dried blood. Putting it on she walked over to Gaara and sat next to him, letting out a sharp exhale of pain as she sat down—Ami scowled as well when she noticed it was snowing outside, a heavy amount of sarcasm in her voice as she spoke. "Awesome. We're going to have to travel in the snow tomorrow. So fucking pumped."_

_Watching as she took some of their rations out of her knapsack, Gaara caught the ones she tossed at him with ease. "Sleep close to the fire tonight to keep warm. You need your rest." Taking a bite of what he had to admit was a horribly stale biscuit; Gaara washed it down with a swig of water. "Let's just be happy that it isn't a blizzard. We can get through the night like this." _

_The redhead glanced over at the woman trembling next to him in the cold, her clothes had been torn up when they were in battle, and her cloak had fallen off and blown away when they were retreating. Unclasping the latch to his own cloak he draped it over Ami, going back to his previous position of staring out of the mouth of the cave and eating the tough biscuit. Not making eye contact with the blonde or saying anything when he covered her, only grunting in response to her thank you. He just didn't want her to get sick like this. That wasn't strange._

_Ami stared over at the boy next to her, wondering if he knew or even wondered why they had been sent on so many rough missions lately. She had heard the counsel speaking about seeing his abilities as a shinobi to see if he would be a good Kazekage. Baki had even told her that if they succeeded on this mission that Gaara becoming Kazekage was almost a certainty. Broken out of her reverie when the redhead asked her why she was staring at him, "Have you even thought about why we've been on these rough missions lately? For the past two month's it's been nonstop A ranked missions and S ranked missions."_

"_No… We've been promoted to jonin Ami, these are the types of missions we get sent on." Sipping on his water, wondering where she was going with this. "Do you know any other reason they've been sending us on these missions?" Gaara wondered silently if the counsel was trying to get him killed—they'd done it before many times. Even if he hadn't let Shukaku out for about a year, they still weren't quite fond of him._

_The blonde blew a puff of air out of her mouth, directing it to blow her bangs out of her eyes—staying quiet until the puff of steam cleared from her field of vision. "If we come back from this mission alive and successful, they're going to make you Kazekage. I wasn't supposed to tell you about that, Baki swore me to secrecy. Act surprised when they tell you yeah?" Ami chuckled a bit when she realized he was staring at her in shock, standing up and unfolding her sleeping bag before getting into it. Speaking playfully as she closed her eyes, "Anyways, I'm getting some sleep! You're on watch Lord Kazekage." _

_Gaara directed his stare at the young woman next to him, watching her breathing slowly even out, her muscles relax one by one. He knew her. He knew how to tell when she was scared or nervous by the small hitch in her voice when she began sentences. He knew that when she began to pinch her earlobes, something was stressing her out. _

_The boy could tell when she was asleep simply by her chakra levels, settling down._

_She was not asleep yet. Her chakra was still spiking every once in a while, due to pain he supposed, every time she shifted. "Ami. Do you think I'll be a good Kazekage?"_

_Opening an eye to look at her charge, "Weren't you the one that said I needed rest?" Ami groaned softly when Gaara muttered an apology, noticing how tense he seemed as he stared into the fire—his whole body seeming to draw closer to himself from what she assumed were nerves and the biting cold. She found herself remembering what he was. A fifteen-year-old boy. He was a kid. Hell, she was a kid too—she'd only just become sixteen two weeks ago. Speaking with the utmost confidence as she rose into a sitting position, "You're going to be a wonderful Kazekage. I know it. Do you want to know why?"_

_The redhead nodded slowly, wondering where all of her conviction came from all of a sudden. "I do. How are you so certain?" his sea-foam green eyes scanning her body language—there wasn't much to go off of, she seemed to be avoiding any unnecessary movements at the moment. She had a sort of knowing smile on her, like she was stating pure fact—her demeanor was almost as if he'd asked if it was snowing outside. She seemed so positively certain._

"_Because you care. You care more than anyone else I know because you know what it's like to not care. You know what it is like to hate. You know what it is like to be consumed with sadness and loathing, and that's what's going to make you a good Kazekage. You're not disillusioned with the village. Half the counsel is pretty much jack-asses, the other half won't always support you. But you're going to keep trying anyways, because you want to make things better. Because you don't want anyone to go through what you have. I know you're going to be a great Kazekage, and if I didn't I wouldn't have supported you when you said you wanted to become one." Reaching for her canteen and taking a swig of water, Ami wished very much that she could go to sleep—but placating Gaara's fears was a priority at the moment. She was his keeper, she was supposed to make sure that he was at peace if she was able to._

_Gaara stared at her as she spoke, wondering how she was able to speak with such certainty about his actions in the future. Although, he had to admit she did know him pretty well. She seemed to be able to anticipate his every movement, they could fight together in battle without even speaking—Ami was even able to figure out where he went when he ventured off at night based on how he acted during that day. "I've got another question. You stop being my keeper once I can handle Shukaku correct?" seeing her nod, he continued on with what was on his mind, "Will you leave after that?"_

_The blonde's smile fell a bit at that question—she wasn't quite sure of what she should say. She hadn't lied to him once, and didn't plan on starting, but at the moment she didn't have any sort of legitimate answer. Staring pensively out of the mouth of the cave, Ami spoke slowly—trying to choose her words. "I don't… know. I've spent a little more than half of my life in Suna, most of my memories are in that village… so to leave would be… really hard. Plus, you're all I know as strange as it sounds. I mean, I was trained to fight for you and protect you. Even if we haven't been good friends for a long time, you mean… a great deal to me. So I don't know. But I'll be by your side as long as you need me all right? Even if you've got Shukaku under control." _

_Looking back at the other, Gaara surveyed the smile on her face he did his best to mimic it, though his felt much less natural than hers looked. Her answer did make him feel a bit better though, if only just by a bit. "Go to sleep. I won't bother you anymore tonight. Thank you Ami."_

_Watching her lay down once more, the redhead felt her chakra levels even out in just a few minutes—the corners of his mouth turning downwards as he watched her tremble on the floor of the frigid cave. Gaara took off his gourd, then his scarlet trench coat—using his sand to drape the warm thing over her. The boy scooted a bit closer to the fire to fight off the cold he was now feeling, but not minding it so much at the moment. _

_Although he didn't say it out loud, she truly did matter a great deal to him._

_Even if he wasn't quite sure why that was._

The blonde whistled a tune as they left Konoha, in quite the good mood. The few days away from Suna had done wonders for her nerves—despite the first night there where she had stayed up all night thinking, for the most part she was better rested than she was at home. There was no need to worry about them being attacked in Konoha, or at least none that she saw. Ami looked over to her right, her hands in the pockets of her dark brown shorts—her loose fitting tan shirt fluttering a bit in breeze. Glancing over towards her right, Ami grinned at the amused look on her love's face. "What's got you so happy? You excited to go home?"

"No, you just… seem at peace for the first time in a while. I'm glad." Walking alongside the woman, watching her from the corner of his eyes as she kept pace alongside him. He continually found himself being reminded of the last official mission they had been on—the both of them. Since he had become Kazekage she hadn't gone on any mission aside from being his guard as he went to other villages. Part of him was curious if she was bored, but he knew very well how agitated she got when they were separated.

Ami and Gaara stopped for the night in a small clearing, the blonde gathering kindling and logs for a small fire—working on getting that burning while Gaara set up their sleeping bags. Glancing back at her love, Ami gave him a small smile before plopping down onto her sleeping bag and pulling out their bags of rations, she tossed him his bag watching as he caught it with ease before opening up their own. "This reminds me of when we used to go on missions. Good god that was forever ago—" biting down and chewing on what she was pretty sure was a bad tasting protein bar, not caring so much about the taste as long as her stomach finally stopped grumbling at her.

Staring at her as she ate, taking a sip of his water Gaara took in everything about her that he could see in the glow of the fire. The scars he could see—she seemed to have more and more every time he looked at her. Unlike most women it seemed she didn't seem to care if she got a scar as long as it wasn't horrifically large, and even then she was more concerned with the wound that was going to cause the scar.

Ami always told him that each scar meant she had lived, why should she be ashamed of them?

She looked gentle, frail almost to the untrained eye. Anyone who didn't know how ferocious she could be when angered or upset had the fleeting impression that they could crush her and destroy her—only to find out once they pushed to hard that they themselves could be destroyed.

The blonde was full of warm tones, gentle slopes, there didn't seem to be a harsh thing about her. Her skin was fairly pale with a pink undertone, her hair golden, even her green eyes seemed to glow and dance with an unseen ember of fire.

Seeming to blend in and stand out to him at the same time, Ami hated flashy clothes, wearing things that blended into the surrounding desert in case she needed to be camouflaged, and admittedly had he not grown so accustomed to her chakra he would probably lose track of her much more often. At the same time though, her body language made her stand out—she seemed to burst with a strange confidence and energy that he couldn't place for the life of him.

Gaara took off his gourd, using his sand to bring her over to him and set her gently into her lap. Wrapping one arm around her waist, the man took another drink of his water before nuzzling into her neck. He would never understand how she smelled like flowers—if he had to guess it was most likely that strong smelling floral soap that she always bought from the corner store, which to be honest whenever he smelled in on the shelf seemed much too overpowering, but whenever he smelled it on her… it grew just faint enough to remind him of the small greenhouse in the village where they cultivated flowers and herbs.

Mumbling a soft 'I love you' into her neck, Gaara felt a smile creep onto his face as she reached back to play with his scarlet hair.

She was strange in a lot of different ways, but he liked it.

He liked it a lot.


	36. Uncle

Temari burst into the Kazekage's office, panting softly as Shikamaru stood behind her in the hallway, his usually impassive expression contorted with what seemed to be nervousness. The twenty five year old barked out as she stormed in, reaching behind her and dragging her boyfriend in. "Kankuro, Gaara, Ami—Shikamaru and I are getting married. We need witnesses for the signing of the certificate. Come on."

The brunette puppeteer's jaw dropped, "Whoa holy shit—I didn't even know you guys were engaged!" standing up and slinging the giant scroll across his back though, not feeling like getting yelled at by his older sister. Kankuro gave Temari and Shikamaru a joking look, speaking in a teasing tone, "What is this anyways? Did you finally get knocked up Temari? Knew it'd happen eventually."

Staying quiet, both Ami and Gaara watched as the situation unfolded. They had only just gotten back from their trip that morning, and were still just trying to adjust to the dynamics of being back home and not on the road. Ami however was the first to notice Shikamaru's uncomfortable shifting along with his mumbling about 'troublesome timing', while Temari simply seemed to become more rushed, urging them all to come to the courthouse immediately. "Holy shit you're pregnant aren't you Temari?" seeing both the blonde woman before her, and the black haired man twitch a bit, Ami laughed before standing up. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks. We just found out this morning. It's a bit troublesome, but it's not the worst thing." Shikamaru shoved one hand in his pocket, the other one reaching out and taking his soon to be wife's hand as he watched an entire range of emotions play out simultaneously on Kankuro's face, while Gaara maintained his usual impassive demeanor—although the man was fairly sure he saw a trace of shock in his eyes for a few moments. Sighing as Temari began to walk to the courthouse, demanding that the others follow her—he stayed by her side. He wasn't angry about this, he didn't even think of it as that much of a problem, Shikamaru had every intention of marrying the bossy blonde woman and having children with her one day.

Although, every time he thought of it, he was at least a few years older and was already a jonin. Wishing he could smoke right now to calm his nerves, he hadn't really thought much about how much he enjoyed nicotine until Temari had flushed every cigarette he had this morning.

Oh well.

The fan-wielder looked back at the three who followed behind her and her fiancée, all of them staying a bit quiet—out of shock or fear for her she wasn't sure. Smiling a bit she turned a corner on the busy street, "Kankuro, Gaara, both of you are going to be the baby's godfather's. We couldn't choose which so you're both going to do it. Got it?" seeing her two brothers smile—Kankuro gaining a wide one, and Gaara's lips twitch into the tiny grin he got when he heard news that pleased him. "Ami! You're the godmother. You've got a lot of younger siblings. So you know baby stuff right?"

Ami's eyes widened a bit, she hadn't expected that. Keeping quick pace next to Gaara as they finally entered the courthouse, "Thank you but—I don't know much about babies—I mean I was being trained most of the time when I was home as a kid, I didn't help out much with my younger siblings—" chuckling when Temari insisted that she be the godmother anyways, the group made their way to the wedding license counter.

The ceremony was brief—with Gaara presiding over the quick makeshift thing, the redhead speaking briefly, but unable to control the soft smile on his lips. He really was happy for his sister. Gaara knew full and well that she had wanted to marry Shikamaru one day, and he had to say that he really did approve. The two worked well together, and he knew that the man from Konoha would take care of his sister well. Giving them his whole-hearted blessing, Gaara smiled gently at the two of them, "I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride—" The Kazekage glanced over at his older brother—seeing the look of shock leaving his face slowly being replaced with a look of happiness.

This whole predicament was very much unexpected, but Gaara was happy. All of this hectic mess somehow seemed to fit in piece by piece.

Besides, he couldn't wait to be an uncle.


	37. Surprises From Twins

Ami couldn't understand the strange feeling that seemed to crawl up from the small of her back to the nap of her neck—it was the same feeling she got whenever one of her siblings came within a kilometer of her unexpectedly. Stopping in the middle of the empty street as she and Gaara walked to the office early that morning, the sun beginning to break over Suna's retaining wall slowly. The blonde stayed still—trying to hone in on what she was sensing. She could tell that there were two of them, could tell that one had an earth type chakra, the other water, could recognize their chakra level just enough to know that they were about her age and definitely her siblings, and could tell that the earth type was hanging back towards the entrance of the village while the water seemed to be accelerating towards her.

The redheaded man stopped in his tracks, turning around and watching with a bit of confusion as his girlfriend looked around the empty street with more bewilderment than he had ever seen on her face. Not a sensor type like her, he wasn't able to sense chakra unless it was a large amount, or someone that he knew that was close by. He couldn't feel anything at the moment aside from Ami's chakra, "Ami. What's wrong?"

"I—I'm feeling chakra that I shouldn't be feeling? It feels like two of my siblings are here but they'd have told me if they were coming…" was stress getting to her? True she had been feeling better than she initially had when they found out about the threat to Gaara, but the stress and anxiety still remained quite a bit, along with her desire to try and figure out what the hell she was a ninja for, and what her meaning of life was. Feeling a tsunami of chakra crash upon her from behind before she could see who it was or think about whether it was a sibling or an assassin, Ami spun around—grabbing whoever it was by the collar of their shirt, slamming them against the nearest building wall as she pressed her dagger against their throat, panting softly as she took in what just happened, adrenaline rushing through her veins like floodwaters through the desert.

His sand pouring out of his gourd quickly, about to crash against the man who Ami currently was pinning to the wall before freezing in place as he noticed the two had many of the same features.

The same green eyes.

The same pin straight blonde hair.

The same nose.

Ami noticed it quickly as well, releasing the other from her grasp and holstering her kunai as she looked at them with a mixture of annoyance and shock. "What the fuck is wrong with you Daisuke?! Why'd you sneak up on me? I could have killed you!" debating on whether or not she should punch her idiot twin in the stomach she ran a hand through her blonde hair.

"I'm here with Takehito on a mission! I made sure we didn't tell you so it could be a surprise!" picking up on her annoyance and anger but shrugging it off, Daisuke grinned wide and waved at the seemingly stoic Kazekage, "Heya Gaara! How have you been? Do you mind not attacking me? Getting crushed by sand is not on my to do list today." The blonde man smiled even wider as he watched the sand flow back into the gourd on the other man's back.

Rolling her eyes and rubbing her temple gently, trying to calm herself down a bit. Ami spoke in the same nagging tone that their mother used on them whenever they did something stupid. "You shouldn't sneak up on me. I'm a guard, and I told you in the letter I sent that we've gotten an assassination threat! I'm on alert all the time, so is Gaara—you could have gotten hurt—" watching her brother's green eyes look her up and down, his lips pursing as he surveyed her body language, tone, everything about her.

Daisuke looked over to Gaara once more, grabbing his sister by the wrist "Do you think you can do without my sister for a day? You've got people that can look after you right?" covering Ami's mouth with his spare hand when she tried to protest, he grinned wide when Gaara nodded the affirmative and said that he could have his brother be his guard for the day, Daisuke said goodbye to the other man before running off down the street as he dragged his sister along. The two blondes ended up towards the south end of the village, "So do you know where the hell we are? Because I don't got a fucking clue…"

The blonde woman gave her brother an incredulous look, "Really? You ran off without knowing where you were going?" tearing her wrist out of his grip, Ami rubbed the now red skin gently as she glared at him. She was happy to see him yes, but too much disruption of her normal routine always disturbed her. "Why'd you drag me away from Gaara anyways? What's up with you? You don't usually break away from your team on missions. Or you shouldn't anyways- " hoping that Takehito was fine on his own and wasn't trying to find them, she wasn't quite sure if she could handle his attitude at the moment without punching him square in the jaw. He still hadn't apologized for what had happened between them while she was drafted into being a Keeper for their home village, or what he had done to get her drafted, or what he had said about Gaara.

The jackass never apologized. He always tricked others into apologizing to him so he seemed like the good guy.

It was awful.

"You're stressed. I can tell. Tell me what's wrong." Smiling at his sister, Daisuke could see the look of surprise on her face. Had she really thought that he wouldn't notice? She spoke about all that was bothering her in her letters for one thing, and the even bigger tell was… well everything about her at the moment. She had dark circles and bags under her eyes from lack of sleep, although she had said that she didn't seem to get enough sleep any time. He could see indigo bruises on her earlobes from where she had been pinching herself, a strange habit that she tended to do whenever she was nervous—he had no idea where the hell she picked the damn compulsion but it was the easiest way to see if she was stressed or anxious, When she had lived with them for three months when she got drafted, there was a time when her entire right ear had been bruised just from her pinching herself.

His sister was strange.

Although, to her defense, their entire faction, family and home village seemed to be strange in one way or another.

Ami stayed quiet for a few moments, shoving her hands into her pockets as she walked down the street with him. Where did she start? Should she even start? She loved her younger brother and she didn't want to lie, but talking about her feelings was not exactly her favorite thing to do. Kicking the road as she walked side-by-side, dust and sand making small clouds in her wake—her black sandals becoming more and more dirty with each step.

Maybe if she stayed quiet he wouldn't make her answer?

Groaning when he nudged her, her twin badgering her for several minutes as they walked along to answer his question. Of course that strategy wouldn't work on her brother. He was more stubborn than she was.

It was awful.

The blonde man stared at his sister, deep in thought for a few moments before smiling wide. "Okay then! How about this. You and I go train okay? And if I win our sparring match, then you have to tell me everything that's going on. And if you win, I'll leave you alone and make sure Takehito doesn't bug you while we're here." Holding out his hand to shake hers, "How's that sound?"

"Sounds good." Shaking her brother's hand, Ami couldn't help the smirk on her face. This should be easy enough.

And besides, sparring was always fun.


	38. Takehito

Takehito couldn't keep the scowl off of his face as he walked down the street—watching as people slowly filled the village up. He was very much hoping that the people here would make his dislike for bigger villages a bit more validated, but so far people were being either indifferent to him or fairly kind.

He also wanted to find his younger brother if possible. Daisuke had screamed that he was going to find Ami the second they walked through the entrance of the village, and had run off without him. His younger brother had recently gained complete control of his demon and was now no longer in need of a keeper, so this was his first mission without his keeper Kagura in tow. Takehito was supposed to monitor how he acted, how he responded to stressors, just his brother in general, but it was very hard to do that when he wasn't able to find his brother.

Stuffing his hands in his pockets after running one through his shaggy brown hair, Takehito trudged up the steps of the Kazekage tower. The mission was to deliver important scrolls to the Kazekage, and stay for a few days to establish good connections to the village.

The twenty five year old was under orders from his father, his grandmother who was the leader of the clan, and his uncle who was the Kage of his village to be polite and courteous to his sister's old host family and everyone in the damned desert village or else he would be kicked off of the clan's counsel and demoted to chuunin. He hated this.

He hated every single damned second of this.

At least he'd get to see his little sister while he was here. He really did love Ami. When they were smaller he had always admired how stubborn she was, how strong she was, how much she cared. Even after her punching him, and yelling at him, he still loved her little sister and wanted her to be happy. Which was the main reason why he wanted her out of this village. She'd told him about how horrible the people could be, how Gaara had acted before he'd met some other host from Konoha who's name he hadn't even bothered to remember, she'd told him everything in her letters.

If she came home she would be safe. She'd be surrounded by loving family, she'd be surrounded by her own people, and she wouldn't have to protect some mass murderer anymore…

He wished she would see things his way.

Walking into Gaara's office, not waiting for his secretary to send him in, just wanting to get it over with. Takehito surveyed the room, a bit surprised when he realized that his sister was gone and it was just Gaara and his brother that almost punched him the last time he spoke.

Wonderful.

"Hello. I'm here for a mission with my brother Daisuke, although as soon as we entered the village he ran off to find Ami. Anyways, here are the scrolls we were told to deliver, sir." Setting three large scrolls on Gaara's desk, Takehito used all of his willpower to try to not scowl.

The redhead was a bit taken aback, not by the other's appearance, but more at how polite he was being. Although the other was definitely unhappy—even if Takehito wasn't scowling at the moment, it was obvious that he was in a foul mood just by the other's body language and tone of voice. Keeping a stoic face as he glanced over to his own brother before looking at Ami's "Thank you Takehito. If you're looking for your siblings, Daisuke dragged Ami towards the southern side of the village. After that I have no idea."

Kankuro raised a painted eyebrow as he watched the scene before him, he really didn't like Ami's oldest brother in the slightest—and even thinking about the other made him want to punch him in the face. Although, watching Takehito be so uncomfortable and displeased really was a wonderful thing. A smirk made it's way onto Kankuro's face as he leaned against the sandstone wall of his brother's office, arms crossed in front of him, "So how have you been Takehito? We haven't heard any word about you from Ami."

Looking over at the puppeteer, trying to keep his tone civil, Takehito noticed the slight scowl on Gaara's face as he too looked at Kankuro. Noticing Gaara mouth something in the Suna dialect, Takehito could only assume it was something along the lines of 'Don't start anything.' Straightening up his posture, sticking his own hands in his pockets. "Things have been well. Demon attacks are down quite a bit, we've halved the number of our keepers that have been drafted as well." Not looking to make conversation—it was all he could do to keep himself from screaming at these two men, Takehito gave Gaara a mere twitch of a bow before turning on his heel and leaving the room, intent on finding his brother and sister.


	39. Sparring Matches and Wedding Rings

Ami didn't really know what the hell happened. She and Daisuke had somehow managed to knock each other out at the same time during their fight, the last thing she remembered was setting a trap for Daisuke that would make him unable to fight, then getting picked up and thrown against the retaining wall that the training grounds were adjacent to.

If she had to guess, Daisuke had thrown her right after she set the trap, then fallen into the trap that she set.

Either way, their sparring match was a draw.

Looking over towards her brother who was currently entangled in so much chakra thread that it looked like he was wrapped in an iridescent blue blanket, she guessed that the fall to the ground had knocked him out somehow. The blonde pulled herself up from the ground, wiping the dust the best she could from her clothes and body as she walked over to her brother and began to cut him free. "We both lost. What now?"

"Ugh—fuck—what?" looking up at his sister who was crouching above him and cutting him free, as the cloud of his mind slowly cleared. Had they really both lost? He remembered throwing Ami against the wall to try to win, and then suddenly something snagged him and knocked him out. "Well if we both lost then… um… how about you tell me what's going on and then I keep Takehito from being too much of a dick? I don't know—my head hurts…" rubbing the growing bump on his head, hoping very much that it would go away soon.

The blonde reached out her hand and helped her brother up, smiling at him before using her free hand to wipe the blood off of her cheek, frowning a bit at how much it stung. "Let's go back to the mansion, I'll get out the medical kit and we can get patched up, then we can get lunch and talk. How does that sound?" A great deal of her body hurt at the moment, but she didn't mind that much. Their father had told them since the time they could start sparring, that the only good fight was one where both parties were injured.

Both parties were definitely injured.

Daisuke was covered in bruises and slight burns from when he was unable to dodge Ami's fire jutsu's, and Ami was covered in nicks and scratches from when she was unable to dodge her brothers throwing stars and kunai.

Not the worst thing in the world, but they still needed the medical kit.

Soon enough both twins were bandaged up thoroughly, dressed in fresh clothes, with Ami leading the way to one of the restaurants that specialized in food the local food. It wasn't quite her favorite type of food, but Daisuke had been talking excitedly about how he wanted to try it. Walking into the restaurant, she smiled at the owner and ordered some spicy chicken for both her and Daisuke to share, along with fried rice and the soy dumplings that were so popular with everyone in the village. "The food here is good, I think you'll like it a lot."

"Yeah—that's not what I want to know about. I wanna know what's got you stressed Ami." Sipping on his water, as he watched his sister in front of him. She never really spoke much about things that were bothering her in her letters, if someone asked her what was wrong she would answer—but the opportunity to speak to her about this stuff face to face, was rare. On average he saw her about once every seven years, and he planned to take advantage of this and get her to spill every single thing that was on her mind. Thanking the waiter when the dumplings were placed in front of them, he took his chopsticks and popped a dumpling in his mouth, speaking despite his mouth being full "So what's up Ami. Talk to me."

The blonde woman frowned a bit at her brother, talking about her personal issues was never something she was very fond of. "First of all, don't talk with your mouth full. I know people here Daisuke." Watching as her brother made a face at her before swallowing his food. "And… it's a lot of things. It's the assassins I told you about—We haven't heard from them directly since Gaara announced that he was going to remain in office, but there are not many people we can trust. From what we know, most of them are ANBU and jonin—people who Gaara has to interact with on a daily basis… They're the highest in our force, and if we can't trust them who can we trust?" using her chopsticks to maneuver a dumpling into her mouth as well, Ami stayed quiet for a few moments as she chewed—thinking about everything else before swallowing and continuing what she was saying. "And then, we went to Konoha a few weeks ago and got to talk to Uncle Takehito who asked me about what the meaning of my life was and why I was a ninja, and when I told him he said that was a bad answer and ever since then I can't stop thinking about it—"

Daisuke popped an ice cube from his water into his mouth, chewing on that as his older sister spoke. About to speak but remembering that she would probably chastise him again for speaking with his mouth full, he swallowed the ice before talking. "Well what was your answer? It couldn't have been that bad."

"I said what I've always said—that my reason for being a ninja was to protect Gaara, and the same with my reason for living. Then Uncle said that it was a bad reason and then asked if those were truly my reasons or if I was just indoctrinated from my training—" seeing the look Daisuke was giving her she rolled her eyes, "I know it's a bad reason—I get it now. That's why I'm trying to figure out what it really is… I just… I don't have any clue. At all."

Staying quiet for a few moments as he ate the last dumpling, smiling a bit when his sister scowled at him for eating most of them. Washing down the soy-flavored thing with a swig of water before speaking. "Well, let's tackle the ninja one first then. Why didn't you retire after the war? No one would have blamed you. I mean not many of the tiny villages fought in that war—or any of them actually, but from what I heard it was pretty awful. More than half the ninja in the allied forces died, so after all of that death and destruction, why are you still a ninja?" thanking the waiter as both her and Ami were given plate of spicy chicken and fried rice, watching as the man walked off before looking back at his older sister.

Ami was silent as she thought about it, eating a bit of fried rice as she mulled over his question, "Well. I stayed a ninja because I wanted to stay by Gaara's side and keep him safe. It's still like that today. Maybe it is because I was trained to think like this and be hyper-protective of him, but I want to protect him and keep him safe at all times. It's what I'm best at—when we were in the general forces, Gaara and I spent so much time on missions together that we were practically able to fight together without speaking about what we needed to do… He knew what I would use to attack and defend, and I knew which enemy he would target first. We're a great team, and being alongside him makes me happy. War was hell, but being next to him during the war made it bearable."

"See—that makes sense. I think what uncle was talking about was more of your reason for life. Our reasons for being a ninja and our reasons for living are usually super different. My reason for being a ninja is because I've got a demon inside of me, and I can use that power to defend the village and my family! My reason for living is to be happy. Which I know sounds a bit selfish, but I know that when I'm happy, I'm able to make sure that the people I care about are happy and healthy, I'm able to protect people better. So what about your reason for living?"

Chewing on a piece of spicy chicken, feeling the familiar sensation of her scalp starting to itch—the same thing that always happened whenever she ate something spicy. Scratching her head before taking a sip of her water, "I don't know what it is. I mean I know it's not just Gaara anymore. There are many people I want to protect and keep safe. But I also know after fighting in a war, that it's impossible to keep everyone you love safe. You can do everything in the world right, but something can go wrong. And that's not all I want from life—I mean I want to get married and have kids and maybe someday retire from being a ninja if it ever comes to it… I just don't know. There's a lot of things I care about and want to keep safe." Ami took a bite of her fried rice, scowling a bit. She really wished her uncle hadn't put these thoughts in her head, while she appreciated the need for philosophical thought, she had been much less stressed before all of this nonsense came about.

Daisuke used his chopsticks to point at his sister, bits of rice still stuck to the ends as he used them to gesture. "You know what you've got to do Ami? You've got to just let things be. I didn't realize why I was a ninja or why I was here until after Kagura stopped being my keeper. I wasn't spending a bunch of time thinking about it and obsessing over it, it just sort of came to me. So you're worried about the whole assassin thing right? Focus on that. All of this stuff about life will fall into place eventually, don't worry about it." Popping a piece of chicken into his mouth and grinning at his sister, the blonde man spoke with his mouth full partly because he really didn't care at the moment, and getting Ami to lighten up a bit was important to him. "Try relaxing for once. Besides, you and Gaara are getting married right? Mom told us all how he asked for permission to marry you. When is that happening by the way? Mom said to wait until you brought it up, but I'm tired of waiting."

Brushing a stray strand of hair out of her face, a slender eyebrow being raised at his last question. "Gaara and I aren't engaged. I think he's tried to ask me a few times but something's always interrupted him." Not mentioning the first time he asked and she said no, Ami made a mental note to bring this up to Gaara when she saw him later tonight. She knew that he wanted the proposal to be special, but she really couldn't care less as long as they got married. "I'll try that though. Not thinking about all of this. Maybe that'll work."

Ami spent the whole day with her younger brother, both making a point to avoid Takehito whenever he was spotted or Ami sensed his chakra. Soon enough she dropped her twin off at the hotel he was staying at before headed home to the mansion—starting a dinner of rice porridge and chicken for her and Gaara to have for dinner. She was fairly sure he'd be home soon from work, he didn't have any meetings today and unless something went to hell in a hand-basket he probably wouldn't have too much paperwork. Able to feel Gaara's chakra approach the mansion, she called out a cheerful greeting as he entered the door.

The redhead took off his gourd, placing it by the entrance of his home—unable to control the smile on his face when Ami greeted him. "Hello Ami. How was your day with Daisuke?" walking over to the kitchen, he paused for a few moments as he took in her heavily bandaged appearance. "Did you get into a fight?"

"Hmm? Oh this?" gesturing to her bandages she grinned, "Daisuke and I sparred! Came out to a draw—we knocked each other out. It was a pretty good fight though. Had a fun day with him. Learned something interesting too! How was your day?"

Letting out a soft sigh he began to set the table, Gaara recalled her motto when he used to spar with her. That it wasn't a good fight unless everyone involved needed to use the medical kit. Perhaps her brother shared the same philosophy? "Today was fine. Not much happened." Starting a pot of green tea, grabbing two cups from the shelf next to Ami, "What did you learn?"

A small smirk came onto Ami's face as she glanced at the man beside her, "My family thinks we're engaged. My mother told them all that you asked for my hand in marriage. Daisuke wanted to know when the ceremony was." Catching both cups as Gaara dropped them in surprise, Ami couldn't help but chuckle. "There are no secrets in my family Gaara—it's too big. Did you really think my mother wasn't going to tell everyone about it? I'm surprised they didn't ask me sooner."

Frozen in shock, he watched as Ami carried on making dinner after setting the cups back onto the counter. "I—I was hoping to have finished a proposal by now." Watching as she laughed at his statement, Gaara couldn't help but scowl as he went back to setting the table. He'd be damned if his proposal wasn't special. The redhead knew full and well that he wasn't romantic, but this was one thing he was determined to make a romantic moment. However the hell that worked. Staying quiet through all of dinner, Gaara wondered if Ami even cared if it was romantic or not. After every failed attempt of him asking her to marry him, she would gently remind him that he could continue. It didn't seem to matter to her. And now she definitely knew what his intentions were…

Should he just get it over with?

The blonde woman took a shower after dinner, still quite amused with Gaara's reaction to her telling him what her family thought. To be quite honest, she already had a fair idea of how she was going to be proposed to based on Gaara's personality and how he had done it each time so far. He would take her to some place with significance to their relationship, and propose. That was how it always worked.

Stepping out of the bathroom in her pajamas, her hair still damp—Ami saw Gaara toss a small shiny thing at her from where he was sitting on the bed, the blonde woman catching it on instinct. Looking at the brushed gold ring in her hand, her eyes widened a bit.

Maybe things didn't always work the way she expected.

"I know you don't like jewelry, but I was hoping you'd make an exception for that. Will you marry me Ami?" Gaara already knew her answer would be yes, but the apprehension and nervousness was still there in his chest. Watching as Ami slipped the ring onto her left ring finger, he let out a small sigh of relief.

Ami strode across the room and wrapped her arms around Gaara, sitting in his lap and pulling him in for a deep kiss. "For you, I'll make an exception. Of course I'll marry you Gaara—so glad you finally got the question out for once." Unable to contain her giggles when he kissed and nipped a particularly sensitive part of her neck. She was happier in this moment than she could ever recall being in her life, running a hand through his scarlet hair before kissing the kanji on his forehead gently. "I love you Gaara."

The redhead let a small proud smile make its way onto his face as he looked at the tiny purple mark he had made on the base of her neck, looking up at the wonderful woman in his lap—their lips nearly brushing together as he moved and spoke. "I love you too Ami."


	40. Decade of Changes

_The blonde girl stood a safe distance behind her charge—knowing he wasn't able to attack her with his sand, but still not wanting to be attacked. She sat on the railing of the roof's star-viewing platform, the twelve year old watching with a scowl as Gaara stared at the moon as it rose above the retaining wall of their village. The girl could remember full and well what her mother said about how she needed to show him unconditional love, but damn he made it hard! He was rude to her, he was mean to her, and it was all she had not to punch him in the face sometimes. Arms crossed when he looked back at her with a smirk, her scowl only grew. There was a snarl in her voice as she spoke to him, "What're you smiling for?"_

"_I'm leaving for Konoha tomorrow. Without you." He couldn't wait to get away from this damned place—the boy didn't understand his father's reasons for wanting to destroy the other village, but why should he care? Gaara was a weapon— a weapon about to be used to its fullest potential. The blonde hadn't been told of the plan—the Kazekage had ordered her to remain behind in Suna while Gaara left the village. The redhead loved how frustrated that girl looked whenever it was mentioned she was being left behind. "It's for the best—you're not needed you know. I do not need to be protected. I do not need you to shield me from the world. I am alone on all planes in this universe, I will always be alone—"_

_Ami let out a loud shout of frustration and rage; flash stepping close to Gaara—his sand shooting out in all directions, unable to protect him now that she was so close. The girl grabbed his sash with one hand, and the strap of his gourd with the other, shaking him roughly. She was done. She was fed up and done. It'd been a small offense, but it had been the straw that broke the camel's back. "Shut the fuck up! I've had enough of your shit! You are the biggest brat in this entire world, you know that right? You think you're all alone because of what, some dicks are mean to you?! You could have so much more if you actually tried to give two shits but you can't can you? You can't bring yourself to care because you're too much of a coward! You're a scared little boy afraid to get hurt so you hurt people before they can touch you." Throwing him to the ground, the girl panted softly as her expression softened into one of pity and regret—she was supposed to protect him, not hurt him. "That's really all you are, aren't you? You're not a monster. You're a scared kid. I feel bad for you—living for yourself and only for yourself must be lonely." She watched as his face contorted in rage at her pity—not flinching as he screamed and tried to kill her once more with his sand. _

_Jumping away from him, Ami went back to her previous post—hoping and praying silently to her ancestors that this trip to Konoha would somehow change him for the better. _

_The redheaded boy looked at her with a mix of shock and suspicion. She'd been protecting him for five years now, and that was the closest she'd ever come to attacking him. As far as he knew, she could kill him if she wished to. He'd watched the blonde disable his sand more than once—taking away his attack and his defense. The boy growled, trying to get her to remove that damn look from her face "Do not pity me Minamoto! I am the beast from nightmares—I am the creature that parents warn their children about. I am not lonely! I've got mother!" _

_That was surely Mother wasn't it? The whisper in his head telling him to kill, telling him to draw out the blood of his enemies, and telling him how to strike to bring the most pain in those he was attacking._

_Yes._

_Yes as long as he had mother he'd never be alone._

"_Stop looking at me like that!" shouting now he stood up—the disgusting look of pity was only growing on the girl's young features, "You have no reason to pity me! My reason to live is to kill and survive! I live for myself! What do you live for then? What could you, a pathetic excuse for a shinobi live for?"_

_Ami let out a tiny sigh, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards, "I live to protect you Gaara." Watching him tense up at her statement, she couldn't help the soft laugh that came out of her mouth at all of this._

_She should be scared for her life—he certainly had the drive to kill her at the moment and she knew he had kunai on him, but after years of being told not to sleep lest Gaara lose control, of being on constant surveillance for the ungrateful boy's well being, of being called worthless and useless by the person she was supposed to protect… she couldn't help it. All inhibition of hers had left. _

_The soft laugh became louder and louder, the blonde doubling over before sliding down against the railing before she was sitting on the roof. _

_What was she thinking?_

_He'd never change._

_Ami needed to stop hoping._

_She looked up at the boy before her, a broad smile on her face as sleep deprived eyes scanned the obviously furious face he wore. Tears streaming down her face despite the grin she wore, Ami realized something. She'd be by this boys side for her entire life—she could feel it in her bones. The only way to stop being a keeper was if your charge died or they could control their demon. That would never happen. _

_Never in a million years._

_Hachiman would come back from the dead before that happened. _

"_Have fun in Konoha Gaara! But be careful yeah? Without me to scream at you'll have to find some new targets won't you? Try not to kill too many people—they won't be as tolerant there as we are with you!" Laughing so hard it hurt now, clutching her sides as stitches formed._

_She was doomed._

_The boy returned back to where he had been before—more than disturbed at her new attitude towards things, he kept a careful eye on her, waiting for the moment when she would strike to kill._

_Ami continued laughing throughout the night until she went hoarse, when her laughs dissolved into soft wheezes._

_Looking back at her—feeling a strange fear cast over him as she laughed silently, wheezing. "What's so funny?"_

_The blonde smiled brighter than she ever had—tears of laughter streaming down her face, "You're never going to change! That's what funny Gaara—can't you see it? I'm going to spend my entire life looking after a spoiled rotten brat who can't control his temper—"_

As Gaara and Ami walked around the village, listening to people wish them well for their engagement, the night before his mission to Konoha for the Chuunin Exams played in his head on repeat. It wasn't until they made it to his office and Ami clapped loudly—her hands inches away from his face, that he snapped out of his reverie, the blonde speaking in a light and teasing tone "What's wrong with you Gaara? You look pretty sad for someone who finally asked his girlfriend to marry him last night."

"What—no—no I'm not sad—" about to reassure her frantically that he was not upset, when he realized she was joking. Gaara let out a soft sigh before running a hand through his red hair. "I've been thinking back to the night before I left for the Chuunin exams. Do you remember what happened?"

She gave him a slightly confused look, wondering why he'd be thinking of something like that ten years later. "Yeah—I think we got into a fight or something. Pretty sure I called you a brat or something then shoved you? Why is that bothering you now?" Pausing for a bit she thought more about it, "I think I also told you that you'd never change? I don't know—I don't really remember things that far back well."

Gaara gave her an analytical look, taking in her words—she never had been one to dwell on things that happened before he came back from Konoha the first time. "Do you think I've changed Ami?" He couldn't put his finger on why he was thinking about it now, the thought about it had simply come to him this morning without his meaning to and he couldn't banish it from his mind.

The blonde arched a slender eyebrow at his words, a slight chuckle slipping through her lips "Gaara. Do you really think I'd be in love with you if you were how you used to be? If you hadn't changed? If you hadn't changed we wouldn't be the friends we are now, we wouldn't have dated, and we wouldn't be engaged." Poking the kanji on his forehead a bit hard—Ami watched as his nose scrunched up and he frowned at her, "Don't worry about that stuff. You've been different and changing for ten years. You're not who you are."


	41. Wedding Plans and Rebels

Gaara was frowning slightly, looking through a rather full binder that was filled to the brim with wedding ideas and options with his fiancée. "Why in the world do we need to choose these things…?"

Her eyebrows furrowing slightly as she looked through everything, it all seemed like so much work—and between Gaara's busy schedule, it was looking more and more like she would be planning this wedding by herself. Not too much of a problem, as Gaara's bodyguard she mostly just wrote letters to her family or read during his office hours, she could definitely do this instead.

There was a slight problem though.

She didn't particularly care about this sort of thing.

The blonde would have been perfectly content to go to the wedding license desk and do a small informal ceremony like Temari and Shikamaru had, but the council had forbade it. "Because the council thinks you need to have a huge ceremony for the whole village to see, along with our allies." Chuckling when the redheaded man scowled at her words. "It'll be alright. Temari said she'd help me plan this stuff out. I'll do my best to make sure it's nothing you despise too much alright?"

About to speak when one of the jonin in the force burst into the office unannounced, Gaara's head whipped towards the door—immediately getting a bad feeling at the sight of the frantic man. "What's going on?"

"We found out who the rebels are sir! They just left the village—they attacked the patrol squad on the southern side of the retaining wall when they were escaping!" the man shaking slightly while he spoke, handing him a large stack of files. "We've identified them as well! These are all the ones who left sir!"

Ami took the wedding binder off of the desk and set it down on a nearby chair, leaning over Gaara's shoulder and looking through the files—frowning deeply. These were the people they were up against? Four of the most skilled ANBU in the force, five of the best jonin, and a chuunin that was up for promotion—all of them experienced veterans, loyal to death to the previous Kazekage. Feeling a familiar knot of worry tie itself up in her stomach, if all of these people came at Gaara and her at once, she was certain she wouldn't be able to fight them off. Glancing up at the jonin who had come to deliver the message, "Did they give any motive for all of this?"

Nodding, the man was hesitant to speak for a few moments before Gaara told him to get on with it. "They said they couldn't rightly serve under a monster anymore sir. They seem to believe that you are going to destroy the village." Nodding as Gaara gave a small flick of his hand—the Kazekage motioning that it was alright for the other to leave.

The blonde sat on her fiancée's desk—grabbing a file and flipping through it as her frown continued to deepen. "We're going to need to up your security Gaara." Even if she and Kankuro were stronger than most of the people on this list—sheer numbers were against them. Temari wouldn't be of any help now that she was pregnant, she couldn't fight anymore. Looking at her love and seeing his deep frown at her statement, Ami let out a soft sigh "Don't look at me like that. We both know if you get attacked by all of these people at once you'll get killed. Even if Kankuro and I are there to defend you." Closing the file abruptly, she put it back on the stack before walking over to the file cabinet where the profiles of all the most senior ANBU and Jonin were, "I'm organizing a team of bodyguards to help me keep you safe. No arguments."

"Alright…" it was more of a groan than a statement as he conceded to her demands—knowing that if he tried to fight this she would tell his siblings and get them to help her convince him.

Rubbing his temples as he leant back in his chair, Gaara found himself wishing that the predicament with the rebels would be over soon.


End file.
